Tropical Nightmare
by Kari-chan-06
Summary: Tony and Kate are sent to Argentina for an undercover mission, but they have to take a detour.They are bound to find out that a tropical island can be a real nightmare at least if you´re on your own out there...
1. Undercover, Kate´s POV

Tropical Nightmare- Chapter 1: Undercover (Kate´s POV)

Disclaimer: I don´t own any characters or anything!

Summary: Tony and Kate are sent to Argentina for an undercover mission, but they have to take a detour.They are bound to find out that atropical island can be a real nightmare -at least if you´re on your own out there...

Additional note: I usually don´t write 1st-person narrator, but it seemed to fit rather well for this little story as the POV changes with each chapter.Also, the use of present-tense is wanted here, eventhough it may seem a bit odd. I hope it´s still readable.

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I stare at Gibbs, who has this grin on his face. „There´s no way I´ll do that again, Gibbs." I tell him, but he just grins. He walks around the desk and stops just inches in front of me. I know what´s going to happen next. He´s going to give me that I-am-the-boss-and-you-do-what-I-tell-you-talk again. We´ve been through this a certain number of times and I really hoped he would stop at some point, but he just doesn´t.

„Last time I checked my status, I was the boss around here. You know the wager on this assignment and we can´t afford to let him slip through our net again. I know you hate it and I know you´re going to hate me for it, but you have to do it, Kate." He puts his hand on my shoulder. „I´ll get you a month-stock of Caf-Pow afterwards, okay?" He adds and then turns back to his own desk.

I have to smile a bit. He was Gibbs after all and if he wanted something to be done, it was done just the way he liked. I picked up the file which held my new identity for this case and sighed. McGee and Abby had certainly done a wonderful job on the file, like they always did. Sometimes I wasn´t sure if they were just trying to give us a good cover or if they were having fun putting Tony and me into some weird roles. So far, I had to be a bathing suit model, an actress and a psychologist. It seemed to become stranger with each assignment. This time, I had to play the role of a certain Sarah Henderson, a 28-year-old personal trainer from Baltimore.

„The plane leaves at 4 PM. Your bags are down at the lab, Abby put some outfits together to go with your identities. I want a preliminary report in 24 hours." Gibbs gave me another of his no-need-to-discuss-any-of-this-looks and I just nod at him. Heading to the lab, I can sense Tony bouncing off the walls.

I turn around to look at him. „One thing ahead of the others: The bed is mine!" I tell him and see a grin on his face. That´s just so typical for Dinozzo, always looking for short skirts and fun.

„I just knew you would say that." He replies and walks into the lab where Abby is waiting for us. She hands each of us a small suitcase. „Uhm...and where do I put my guitar and all that?" Tony asks and just receives a warning gaze from her.

Abby is such a sweetheart. At first, I thought she was a bit weird, but when I got to know her better, I found a wonderful friend in her. She was brilliant at her job and had gotten us out of a lot of critical situations. I grab the suitcase with my name tag on it. „Thanks, Abbs. See you in a few days then -and remember, it´s your turn on that pizza." I tell her and walk off to the parking lot. I can literally hear Tony´s mind racing -he didn´t know that Abby and I are friends and see each other in our free time. Well, he knows now for sure.

2 hours later we stand at the airport. I look at the tickets Gibbs gave me and only now I notice something odd about them. „Tony...please tell me FedEx has gone into passenger transport." I look at him and see a puzzled look on his face.

„FedEx...not that I know about. Are you saying...no way, that´s a joke, right? He can´t be serious..." Tony drops onto an empty seat in the waiting area. The ticket doesn´t tell lies. Gibbs booked us as special guests on a FedEx-transporter headed for Hawaii and then Brazil before landing in Argentina.

I walk over to the transport gate where a FedEx-employee is standing. He looks a bit puzzled when we show him the tickets, but then lets us walk to the plane. It´s worse than I first thought -the whole plane is stuffed with groceries, mainly fish and other rather bad smelling things. I know this won´t be a pleasant flight and once again I wish to be back on Air Force One or at least that Gulfstream. I take the seat next to the window and watch as the plane rolls along the taxiway. Seven hours in this plane, seven hours only me and Tony and about four and a half tons of fish.


	2. Flying High, Tony´s POV

Tropical Nightmare- Chapter2: Flying high (Tony´s POV)

Disclaimer: I don´t own any characters or anything!

Summary: Tony and Kate are sent to Argentina for an undercover mission, but they have to take a detour.They are bound to find out that atropical island can be a real nightmare -at least if you´re on your own out there...

Additional note: I usually don´t write 1st-person narrator, but it seemed to fit rather well for this little story as the POV changes with each chapter.Also, the use of present-tense is wanted here, eventhough it may seem a bit odd. I hope it´s still readable.

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He was doing it again. I look around the plane and couldn´t help asking myself what I was doing here. Gibbs had a certain talent to put people into uncomfortable situations. I didn´t exactly mind spending time with Kate, never mind share a room with her or something -that was what our job required now and then. The problem was, I still had that macho-image around NCIS -something Kate hated like no other. It was the one thing that had kept me from being honest with her from the beginning. She is a highly trained special agent -and a beautiful one on top of that.

Stop it, Dinozzo!I have to get a grip onmy thoughts and look around the plane instead. It was useless to daydream about something that would never happen anyway. We are colleagues and that´s all there will ever be. I can already hear McGee and Abby bragging about our undercover assignment -there would be talk around the office by the time we got back, but it had been like this for two years now.

She doesn´t say anything for a while. We´ve been airborne for about an hour when she finally turns around and looks at me. „When we get back, remind me to go down to his basement and burn his boat..." She mutters and I notice how pale she looks. It´s obvious that she´s not feeling too well, but as always, Kate tries to hide it. Just why does she think I´m blind?

„I´ll remind you. Want some water?" I ask and hand her a bottle. She hesitates for a second before accepting it. I wait for a moment and hand her a paperbag as well. „Once we´re out over the ocean it will be a rough ride." She gives me one of her I-can-take-care-of-myself-thank-you-very-much-looks, but takes the bag. „It could be worse." I add and note that the motion of the plane is getting a bit more unsteady.

„Yeah, Gibbs could be here, telling us how much more comfortable this is compared to a military transporter." She closes her eyes while the engines roar beneath us. I close my eyes and try to take a nap, maybe I will be asleep by the time we get into turbulence.

The light in the plane is different when I open my eyes again. Must have been a while. I sit up and look around, but the seat next to mine is empty. I can hear a muffled sound from somewhere behind the fish containers. „Kate? Everything okay?" I call and wait for an answer.

„I´m fine." She replies after a moment, but her voice tells me she´s not. I decide to wait and after a moment she comes out behind a box of crabs. The plane is rocking back and forth, but she is holding her balance. I offer her my hand when she is close enough which she accepts -another sign that she´s not feeling at her best right now.

„Rough ride." I say and hand her a bottle of water. She just nods and brushes a strand of hair from her face. „Try to sleep a bit, that´ll make it better. Getting sick on a flight like this isn´t so unusual."

She looks and me and I´m not sure whether it´s a glare or a smile. „Except when your name is Gibbs and you love flying with those military transporters. I think he´s only happy when he´s tossed around like a dummy." She says and wraps a blanket around her shoulders. For a second, I want to put my arm around her and just hold her, but I know she would never allow it. I don´t know where this feeling comes from, we´ve been working together for such a long time. Why can´t I feel for her like for a sister -that´s what Abby has become for me. We get along well and look out for each other. Just why can´t it be the same with Kate? I wonder if it is like that for her, but I would never ask. I watch her when she falls asleep, her head slowly falling to the side. I reach out and pull her over to my side. She won´t mind, at least I hope so. And if she does, I don´t mind her yelling at me. She does so regularly.


	3. Falling down, Gibbs´ POV

Tropical Nightmare- Chapter 3: Falling down (Gibbs´ POV)

Disclaimer: I don´t own any characters or anything!

Summary: Tony and Kate are sent to Argentina for an undercover mission, but they have to take a detour.They are bound to find out that atropical island can be a real nightmare -at least if you´re on your own out there...

Additional note: I usually don´t write 1st-person narrator, but it seemed to fit rather well for this little story as the POV changes with each chapter.Also, the use of present-tense is wanted here, eventhough it may seem a bit odd. I hope it´s still readable.

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„Boss, the plane has taken off on schedule." McGee´s voice breaks through the normal sounds in the bullpen and I turn around to face him.

„Good. Do you get a GPRS signal from them?" I ask and watch the big screen jump to life. Two red dots move very slowly over a giant map. „Wonderful. That would be all for today then, see you in the morning." I note the time of departure on a piece of paper and set out for the parking lot. Tomorrow around 2 PM I would get a first assessment from them -full of complaints, I am sure, but that wasn´t anything new. The chance to send both of them off for an assignment had just been too tempting to wave it off. Besides that, both hadn´t been off for a holiday for over six months now and I reckoned that some sun would do them good. Especially Kate had been a bit under the weather lately.

-next morning-

„McGee, any news?" I inquire as I walk up to his desk. The look on his face startles me, something isn´t the way it is supposed to be. Before he can answer, I look up to the interactive map, which had displayed their position last night. It is completely blank -not the whole screen as the map is still there, but the red dots, implying the position of my two agents, are gone. I can feel how my muscles tighten and my senses start to work at peak efficiency. That´s the way I always react to surprising or unpleasant news.

„I can´t get a GPRS signal from either one of them. Don´t get the cameras either. I called up the airline and..." he hesitates -not long, but long enough for me to start to worry. „The plane was on its way to Paraguay after a short stop on Hawaii, but control lost its signal somewhere over the Calluantare -a small group of islands in the Atlantic ocean." He finishes his report. I look into his eyes and I see his worry, but also confusion. He hasn´t been with us very long, but I know he´s looking up to Kate and Tony. They taught him a lot in the past months and I´m sure they are friends.

„Did they send rescue teams out?" I ask, trying to remember my training and take one step after the other.

„Yes. They found the wreck on a submarine rift, about 30 ft under water, but they only found both pilots dead in the cockpit. No sign of Kate or Tony. A hatch in the freight area has been detached at the crash, it´s possible that they were washed out into the ocean." His voice is calm, but I can feel that he was holding his feelings back, trying to sound professional. He´s failing completely, but I´m not going to tell him.

„Right...get me the coordinates of the wreck, the planned course and weather data from last night. And I want you and Abby working on those GPRS -maybe they can get one repaired. Set up a constant observation of their frequencies." I head for Director Shepards office. She probably knows already, but I want to make sure that we keep looking for them. In front of my inner eye, I see a stormy sea and two lifeless forms drifting away, but I quickly shake that picture off. They can´t be dead. I know that chances are slim, but as long as we don´t have proof that they died in the crash, they are alive. At least in my mind they are.


	4. Salty waters, Kate´s POV

Tropical Nightmare- Chapter 4: Salty waters (Kate´s POV)

Disclaimer: I don´t own any characters or anything!

Summary: Tony and Kate are sent to Argentina for an undercover mission, but they have to take a detour.They are bound to find out that atropical island can be a real nightmare -at least if you´re on your own out there...

Additional note: I usually don´t write 1st-person narrator, but it seemed to fit rather well for this little story as the POV changes with each chapter.Also, the use of present-tense is wanted here, eventhough it may seem a bit odd. I hope it´s still readable.

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It´s cold. That´s the first thing I notice when my senses come back to me. I can smell something -not fish, but something similar. How can it be so hard to think? My head seems to explode when I try to open my eyes. I keep them shut, but now I know what that smell is. Salt. Water. Wind. Algae. I try to open my eyes again and this time I can see something. It´s more like shadows, but they are moving. I move my arms and legs -both work, but my right arm hurts. The shadows start to clear up. Everything is moving up and down somehow. Where am I? I remember getting on that plane with Tony, but... „Tony?" I doubt he can hear me, my voice doesn´t rise over the storm and I swallow a mouthful of salty water, it makes me cough.

Something warm touches my head. I want to pull away, but then, I see a face next to mine. „Lie still, Kate. That´s one freaking storm." He yells and is gone again. I look around and finally realize where I am. It´s a wooden raft, looks like piece of a large box or something similar. Lightning is blazing above me on the dark sky and I wonder if we would die when a lightning bolt hits the water. While I think about it, my eyes start to close again. It´s so cold and I´m so tired. I feel someone shaking me, but it´s so much easier to go to sleep.

„Kate? Kate! Come on, look at me." It´s a bit warmer now and something wet washes over my face. I try to get my arms up to protect me. „Good." The voice says and I feel how my head is lifted. Something very hot is in my mouth all the sudden. I want to spit it out, but swallow some. It tastes sweet, like tea, but it seems to burn my throat. I open my eyes and cough.

Two hands hold me down, I try to struggle against them, but I fail. „Kate, calm down. It´s me, Tony." The voice says and finally, I recognize him. My vision clears up and I look up into a starlit sky. I turn my head a bit and see Tony sitting next to me. He looks worried, but I don´t know why. I try to sit up again, but my right arm hurts when I put weight on it. He smiles and helps me. Just what happened?

„Where am I?" I finally ask and wonder why I can hardly speak. It must be night and I can hear waves breaking against the shore. I feel sand under my hands, maybe all was just a dream or something.

„The plane crash-landed -I don´t have a clue why. You were asleep, but the impact tossed you around. You hit your head on one of the containers. The plane sank and I had to get you out, there was a broken container, one of the sides was large enough to work as a raft. The current took us to this island, I don´t think there´s anyone living here. I haven´t seen any lights around at all." He looks out onto the sea.

I follow his gaze and realize that there´s just darkness out there. Not a single spark of light, nothing. „I remember being on that raft...it was so cold." I recall some bits and pieces of what happened, but it´s not nearly enough to explain the situation.

„I wasn´t sure if you would make it...you almost drowned. When we got here, you weren´t breathing... I got the water out of your lungs, thank god they still teach us CPR. I mean, are you feeling okay now? I found a package of tea, probably for one of the hotels and some gas stoves. There´s not much food though...at least none I could find with so little light." I listen to him and realize just what a close call it had been. I remember my instructor at the training camp. He used to tell us that falling asleep was deadly when a person was hypothermic. I had forgotten.

I finally sit up completely and probe my right arm. There is a bruise around the elbow, so I probably ripped something in there, but it won´t kill me. Something falls off my shoulders and I notice that it´s his jacket. A strong breeze is playing with my hair, it´s not really warm. I take the jacket and hand it back to him. „Thanks, Tony..." For a moment, there´s a smile playing on his lips. Just what is it that fascinates me so much about him? A part of me wants to curl up in his lap and go back to sleep with his arms around me, but the other part hesitates and pulls back.


	5. One wrong step, Tony´s POV

Tropical Nightmare- Chapter 5: One wrong step (Tony´s POV)

Disclaimer: I don´t own any characters or anything!

Summary: Tony and Kate are sent to Argentina for an undercover mission, but they have to take a detour.They are bound to find out that atropical island can be a real nightmare -at least if you´re on your own out there...

Additional note: I usually don´t write 1st-person narrator, but it seemed to fit rather well for this little story as the POV changes with each chapter.Also, the use of present-tense is wanted here, eventhough it may seem a bit odd. I hope it´s still readable.

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The sun is rising slowly and baths the whole beach in a soft red and golden light. I haven´t slept much last night. First of all, the sand is getting just about everywhere so there´s no way to get comfortable. Secondly, I just felt like I had to watch out for Kate. I still can´t forget the look on her face last night. I try to think about what might be if she had really drowned, but I just can´t imagine that. It´s Kate, after all and for some reason, it feels like she will always be there.

I look around consciouslyfor the first time. Last night it was too dark to see anything, but now I can see palms and small bushes growing about 200 ft behind us. The beach seems endless and stretches into the horizon. I know it´s just an optical illusion though. I get up to get a better look around. There are some boxes floating in the water. They got caught between two large rocks. When I take a closer look, I recognize them. They are transport boxes from the plane. I jump into the water and gather them. There are some normal parcels as well, probably mail for someone living on Hawaii.

As I throw them out of the water, I see another one floating just a few feet away. The water isn´t deep around here and I decide to walk over towards the other parcel before heading back to the beach. The rocks between the sandy ground are slippery and I take a few falls before I finally reach my destination. It´s a large white box wrapped in plastic. The writing on the address label has been washed off, but it seems like there´s food inside. Concentrating on the parcel, I take another step and feel a sharp pain in my left foot all the sudden.

I go down because I try to grab my foot out of a reflex. Salty water runs into my mouth, I think I was about to scream in pain, but I´m still under water. I struggle up to the surface, coughing out water and gasping for air. My vision is blurred from the pain that´s shooting through my whole leg now. I try to lift my leg, but it seems to be glued to something on the ground. From the corner of my eye I can see Kate on the beach, she probably heard me scream. It hurts like hell, but I can´t come free.

I go down again, trying to see what´s holding me down, but the water is too dirty from the sand that´s whirled up. Something touches my arm and I am pulled up. Kate is standing next to me. "Tony? What´s wrong?" She asks, but I can´t talk. I feel awful. There´s something red in the water and I realize it´s blood. "Don´t move." She tells me and is gone a moment later. I feel her tugging on my leg and another pain hits me. My other leg feels weak and I know it will give way in just a few moments. A second later, my foot is free and she resurfaces. "You stepped into something sharp. Let´s get out of here."

Everything starts spinning around me once we´re back in shallow waters. I drop down, but she keeps pulling me up. "C´mon, Dinozzo. Move it or I´ll tell Gibbs." She says and for some reason that works. I don´t want to face Gibbs after we´ve screwed up here. I know he´s not here, but still, I pull myself together and limp onto the beach. I look down and see a hole in my foot. Whatever I stepped on has pierced through it all the way. I don´t mind seeing blood, at least as long as it isn´t my own.

"I think, I need to sit down." I just let myself drop onto the beach. My whole leg is burning and I feel myself shaking. Kate is gone again, I just close my eyes for a moment and hope that this is just a dream. When I open my eyes again, the sun is standing high and it´s very warm. My leg feels heavy and hot. "What the..." I start, but a hand is holding me down.

"Just stay down. Whatever you stepped on must have been either really dirty or poisonous. I´ve never seen a wound getting inflamed so fast." I see her face above me and I know she´s worried. I´ve pulled so many stupid comments on her, I´ve embarrassed her so often and yet she´s worried about me. The only explanation for this is that she´s just too good for this world. I´ve never met anyone who comes even close to her, but I don´t think she knows how I feel about her. "I´ll go look for water -the bottles are almost empty." She tells me and I focus on her eyes again.

"Be careful." I tell her, but I know she will be anyway. She´s always careful, well at least when someone else depends on her. I´ve seen her run out into the worst thunderstorm without a jacket only because her sister forgot something after a visit. I watch her walk up to the jungle and can´t help to smile. For a second, I try to imagine what it would be like if it was her lying in the sand with an infection, but somehow, I don´t want to think about it. I´ve seen her getting hurt before, that´s the risk you take when you accept this job.

I must have fallen asleep again, because it´s dark when I open my eyes again. There´s a small fire burning nearby. I turn my head and look around. Kate is sitting on the other side of the fire, staring into the flames. It looks like she´s somewhere far away. "Kate?" She jumps a bit, like I woke her from a daydream or something. "Did you find any water?"

She comes over and sits down next to me. "There´s a small river about half a mile from here." She replies and hands me a bottle with water. It´s a bit warm to the touch, she probably boiled the water to kill any germs. My leg still burns, but the pain has lessened. I sit up a bit and look at her. There´s a deep cut on her cheek.

"You´re hurt." I tell her, but she just shrugs. I can sense that she doesn´t want to talk about it and lie back down. The soft breeze from the sea is quite cool, but the fire is just big enough to keep us warm. I know that we have to look for some kind of shelter soon, but I don´t want her to do that alone. I hope my dad was right when he told me that everyone in our family had very good healing abilities.


	6. SOS, Kate´s POV

Tropical Nightmare- Chapter 6: SOS (Kate´s POV)

Disclaimer: I don´t own any characters or anything!

Summary: Tony and Kate are sent to Argentina for an undercover mission, but they have to take a detour.They are bound to find out that atropical island can be a real nightmare -at least if you´re on your own out there...

Additional note: I usually don´t write 1st-person narrator, but it seemed to fit rather well for this little story as the POV changes with each chapter.Also, the use of present-tense is wanted here, eventhough it may seem a bit odd. I hope it´s still readable.

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I always thought Tony is a macho -big mouth, nothing behind that. We´ve been working together for two years now, but I never realized how wrong I was about him. He´s as much of a macho as Gibbs is of a sweetheart. It´s been three days since we landed on this island, three endless days. I always wanted to spend a long vacation on some deserted island, but right now I would rather go for a shopping tour in New York City than staying here a minute longer.

Tony is still asleep. The fire has burnt out over the night, but the sun is rising already. It´s going to be nice and warm soon. I get up and look around. There are more boxes in the water today, probably more from our crashed plane. I walk into the water and fish them out. Maybe there´s something inside that will be of use. I´m still hoping for antibiotics or at least some antiseptic ointment. It´s amazing how quickly the wound on his foot is healing, but he´s still running a fever from the infection. He told me he´ll be fine in a day or two -I hope he´s right.

As I walk along the beach, I remember the survival training Gibbs made us go through. That´s when we found out what the second b in his name stands for. I never thought I would need something we learned there, but I guess I was wrong. There are some pieces of wood lying around. Without thinking much, I take a large branch and start writing three letters into the sand, each one about 15 ft tall. SOS

There are not enough rocks and pieces of wood lying around, but I get done with the first S and a bit of the O. There might be more tomorrow. When I walk back to our campsite I see that Tony is awake. He´s sitting up, ripping his T-Shirt into pieces. "What´ll that do good?" I ask and sit down across from him. The ashes of the fire are still warm and I realize how cold the air still is.

He grins and ties the pieces around his foot. "Good old first aid, Kate. A simple bandage." He says and gets up, slowly putting weight on his foot. "Works just fine, I´d say." He walks a few steps, but I can´t see his face. Something is telling me that it´s not as painless as he tries to make it look, but I know better than to ask him about it. Tony has his own head about these things. I gather some wood and start the fire again. I found a large bag with black tea in one of the boxes yesterday. Tony is looking at the parcels I recovered this morning. "Hey, there´s a first aid kit in here."

I turn around and smile. "Well, just what we need then. Now you got a decent bandage, but no T-Shirt. Maybe you should have waited before ripping it apart." I can´t bite back this one remark, but he just grins at me and continues to go through the parcels.

By late afternoon, we´ve settled down with our new finds. There was a whole lot of clothes in one of the boxes, probably birthday presents or something. Besides that we got three cans of beans, one can pineapple and a set of kitchen knives. "You know, they should include plane wrecks in the survival training. I can´t believe they made us eat worms -there´s so much stuff around here. Coconuts, fish, those cans." Tony says while prying a can open with one of the knives.

"You don´t know how long we´ll be stuck here. Do you think the GPRS chips survived the crash?" I look at the two black cards sitting on a rock. We tried to activate the chips the first morning after the crash, but the small red LEDs stayed blank. I am not much of an electronics-crack. Abby or McGee would know what to do, but they´re not here.

Tony takes one of the chips and turns it over. There´s still water running out of the casing. "Nah, don´t think so. Even if the chips are still okay, the power cell is busted big times. Abby once told me that they can survive rain and even a short dip into a pool, but salt water is deadly." He replies and puts it back. "If I got some kind of electronics-repair set, I might be able to get the chip back together, but it would still need some alternative power source. We´d have enough sun for a solar cell, but I doubt that those things grow on trees."

I have to laugh at his remark and his face lightens up as well. "I´d love to see Gibbs in a situation like this. Especially without coffee. I heard that the Starbucks around the corner is nominating him as customer of the year for the third time in a row. When he was in hospital after Ari shot him, their profit went down a whole 4 points that week." I smile when I remember Washington, but it makes me sad at the same time. On one hand, I would have never learned so much about Tony there, but on the other hand, I would have a bed, a shower and decent food. For a moment, I´m not sure if the latter is so important to me at the moment, but I can´t say what makes me think about that.


	7. Signals, Abby´s POV

Tropical Nightmare- Chapter 7: Signals (Abby´s POV)

Disclaimer: I don´t own any characters or anything!

Summary: Tony and Kate are sent to Argentina for an undercover mission, but they have to take a detour.They are bound to find out that atropical island can be a real nightmare -at least if you´re on your own out there...

Additional note: I usually don´t write 1st-person narrator, but it seemed to fit rather well for this little story as the POV changes with each chapter.Also, the use of present-tense is wanted here, eventhough it may seem a bit odd. I hope it´s still readable.

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It´s been six weeks now since they disappeared. My computer crashed more than a dozen times, but I refuse to throw it out for a new one. Setting up the search routines would take hours. Tim has offered to let me use his computer for the time I have to program the routines on a new machine, but I know he needs it for his own work. We got substitutes for Kate and Tony a week ago. They were gone within a day, I guess they didn´t get along with Gibbs too well.

He´s changed a lot lately. All here know that second b in his name is for bastard, but I didn´t know the first b was for big. Tim has to keep his head down a lot lately. He´s doing a great job up there, I think, but I prefer being down here. Usually, the time Gibbs needs to come down here is sufficient to let him cool down. I heard him get at Ducky for something yesterday -that´s certainly not normal. Both of them used to be some kind of friends.

I stare at the computer screen, but there´s nothing. The door opens and I see Tim coming in with two large cups of Caf-Pow. I take one and look at him. "How are the new agents holding up?" I inquire and he grins. I know that kind of grin. He´s up to something that will get him in trouble if Gibbs finds out.

"He keeps sending me off to run errants, but I put my webcam up so it gets their desks." He starts typing something and the monitor switches to his webcam-view. I can see Greg Newton and Felicia McCarr sitting at their temporary desks. I hate to see them as their desks just yet. Both are talking, I don´t know what about, but obviously, they´re not happy with something. It´s easy to guess that reason as he´s walking in right this moment. Both pull a face before he gets to them.

Those two lasted two days after all. Tim and I could watch the whole end of it over his webcam, but it sure wasn´t pretty. Gibbs yelled at them, they yelled back and then left the building. Tim is on his way to the elevator to see what has happened up there, but I call him back. The picture I get from the camera startles me somehow. "What?" Tim asks, but I just motion him to come over. I can´t take my eyes of the screen just now.

Gibbs is standing behind Kate´s desk. I can see his mouth move as if he´s talking to someone, but nobody is there with him. It´s not so much the fact that he´s talking to himself -he´s done that plenty of times. It´s his way of thinking about certain things. We´ve learned to deal with that. It´s the look on his face that startles me. First I thought it was because of the quality we got from the cam, but then I realize it´s really there. "Is it just my eyes or is he really worried, Abbs?" Tim asks and looks at me.

"It´s not your eyes. I think we just saw his heart break. Or the stonewall around it." I state dryly, but deep inside, I´m shaken. I don´t want Tim to see that, but he´s walking to the elevator anyway. "See you later." I call after him and he just nods. I turn my attention back to the screen. I remember the few times I have ever seen him thoughtful, but it´s never been like this. We have this special thing going, Gibbs and me. He usually comes down to the lab to let off some steam or sort his thoughts. That´s how I know that there´s not only a large rock in his chest. He doesn´t like to show it, but I know there´s more.

I wish I could do more than just checking those frequencies for their signals, but I just can´t. I wish I had given them one of the new GPRS chips, but I decided to test them further. Those new chips are waterproof -they would have survived even the longest dive in salt water. The old ones broke down immediately when the salt washed into the circuits. Maybe this is all my fault.


	8. Replacement not needed, Gibbs´ POV

Tropical Nightmare- Chapter 8: Replacement not needed(Gibbs´ POV)

Disclaimer: I don´t own any characters or anything!

Summary: Tony and Kate are sent to Argentina for an undercover mission, but they have to take a detour.They are bound to find out that atropical island can be a real nightmare -at least if you´re on your own out there...

Additional note: I usually don´t write 1st-person narrator, but it seemed to fit rather well for this little story as the POV changes with each chapter.Also, the use of present-tense is wanted here, eventhough it may seem a bit odd. I hope it´s still readable.

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It´s the fifth time I´m called up to Shepard´s office during the last weeks. I know exactly what she´s going to tell me, it´s been the same every time. I decide not to listen to her again, ranting about my so-called lack to cooperate. I´ve tried, I really did, but no matter who they send me, I know that they can´t replace Kate and Tony. I know I´ve been complaining about both of them -mainly to Abby and Ducky though. It´s a constant argument that´s going on between them, but for some reason they were the best I ever had on my team. I´ve been in this job for almost 20 years now, but I never had the opportunity to work with someone who was like these two.

I keep thinking about the past two years while Director Shepard keeps telling me off about the latest replacements. I just nod, tell her that I´ve tried to bind them into the actual case and leave the office again. There will be two new agents here tomorrow, but I know already that they are not going to last. In my mind, I can hear Kate scolding me for making life so hard for those agents, but I can´t help it. McGee is working on something, he looks up as I come back from the office, but he doesn´t say a word. He hasn´t talked much during the last weeks.

"Any news on the case, McGee?" I ask, mainly because it´s so quiet around the bullpen right now. He just shakes his head and concentrates on the screen again. I know it´s no use to try and get him into a conversation. "It´s late already, see that you get home. There´s supposed to be a thunderstorm coming tonight." I tell him and he looks a bit surprised. There´s no objection from his side and he leaves a few minutes later. For a moment, I ponder if I should go home as well or stay here for yet another night. I don´t remember when I last slept in a bed, but it must have been at least a week now.

I sit down at my desk and close my eyes for a moment. I can see my three agents, arguing about something stupid. It makes me smile. I see Tony, relaxing with his feet on his desk, but everytime I try to get him for not doing anything, he has the answers to just about everything. I see McGee bustling around me on a crime scene, tripping over my coffee. He must have had nightmares for weeks afterwards, at least that´s how he looked. I see Kate, sitting at her desk with her sketch pad. She´s such a gifted artist -Abby has one of her drawings in her lab. I don´t know if Tony has the drawing Kate did of him, but I doubt it. For some reason, she refused to let me see my drawing.

I sigh and open my eyes again. Rain is falling against the windows on either side of the building. I´m not in the mood to get soaked, so I just decide to stay here. I pick up my phone and punch in the number of the Chinese take-out. Ducky would kill me if he knew -he´s been after me lately, lecturing about how bad it is for the health to pull nightshifts and eat junk food, but I really don´t care. I wonder if Kate and Tony are somewhere on an island. If they are, they would surely be glad about such junk food. At least I think they would.

For a long time, I just sit there and think out some scenarios for them. I know that there´s a pretty good chance that they didn´t survive the crash at all, but somehow I´m still trying to deny that possibility. They could be stranded on some deserted island, if they are lucky. They could still be drifting over the open sea on some raft. The scenarios get darker with every one I try to make up. In the end, I decide to get my mind off these things. I walk over to Kate´s desk. Usually, I don´t touch anything that is not mine, but right now, I´m curious and I must admit that I miss them, her most of all.

Her sketch pad lies under a bunch of files. I open it and immediately, I have to smile. The first picture is the one of Tony. She drew him, like she sees him. I like that for some reason. Next page is missing. I know that´s the one she had Abby drawn on. Next page is about two people. I´m a bit surprised, but then I realize just how much truth there is in her drawings. She did that when McGee had just started here with us. The picture shows me, yelling at him while McGee resembles a snail with his face on. There are tiny, sharp teeth in my mouth. I only notice those fine differences when I look closely. I close the pad and put it back. For a while, I wonder if I´m really so awful. I always try to be fair and lead the team efficiently. No one ever taught me how to do that in NCIS. I tried doing it my way, but suddenly, I´m not sure that´s the right way after all.


	9. Fallen, Kate´s POV

Tropical Nightmare- Chapter 9:Fallen (Kate´s POV)

Disclaimer: I don´t own any characters or anything!

Summary: Tony and Kate are sent to Argentina for an undercover mission, but they have to take a detour.They are bound to find out that atropical island can be a real nightmare -at least if you´re on your own out there...

Additional note: I usually don´t write 1st-person narrator, but it seemed to fit rather well for this little story as the POV changes with each chapter.Also, the use of present-tense is wanted here, eventhough it may seem a bit odd. I hope it´s still readable.

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We´ve been stuck on this island for over two months now, at least if I´m correct with my calculations and if Tony hasn´t messed with the counter I´ve set up on one of the trees. Basically, it is just a collection of holes I poke into it every morning. There are 64 now, I can´t believe it´s been so long already. Our little camp has become quite nice, we even have kind of a bathroom. Okay, it´s only a large bush with a giant leave as a sink and a hole for the rest. It´s working all right, though it´s not four-stars. Tony found a glass shard, which he now uses to shave. It´s not perfect, but he certainly doesn´t have the right face to grow a beard.

Tony´s gone, probably fishing or looking for more packages at the beach. There are still some coming in during the night, not as many as at first, but sometimes they are nice finds. We had two cans of peaches and one can of chili in one a few days ago -tastes wonderful if you have only coconut, bananas and fish the rest of the time. I open the tin box we use to keep the tea dry. It´s almost empty, but still enough for another one or two days.

Tony comes back just as I pour myself a cup of tea -sand tea we call it because there is so much sand falling into the can we use to boil the water in. My dentist will have a lot of work to do when I get back home. „The SOS is still pretty readable, but we need a plane to come by and see it." He says and gets himself some tea as well. „Just one package tonight, I guess we got almost the whole load by now. Nothing good inside though...A first aid kit and some meds, I think it´s antibiotics or something like that." He hands me two bottles.

„This one is an antibiotic, but that´s a painkiller. I wonder why anyone would send stuff like that per FedEx...I just wish we had that when you managed to get that infection." I put both bottles away into another tin box. „What´s that?" I ask and point at a small box he´s still holding in his hand.

„Electronics repair set -seems like someone ordered it on home shopping channel." He says and flashes a smile. „I´ll try to get one of our GPRS chips back online, but I´m no expert on electronics."

My mood goes up several points. I know he will probably not get it to work anyway, but even the slightest chance is just wonderful. „What about the power cell? That´s soaked, remember?" I throw in, but he seems to have an answer to that as well.

„There´s a solar cell in that kit -we will need to get it placed somewhere as high as possible, maybe one of the trees or something, but let me get it working first. Good thing the set was sealed in a plastic cover." He bustles around with the small tools and I decide to let him do that alone. I take a walk out on the beach and look out onto the open sea. This place would be perfect for a vacation, but without a hotel and all those wonderful modern inventions, it´s horror. My hair is dull and I´m almost sure I´ll have to get it cut off big ways once we´re home. There´s nothing I want more than a hot shower and a huge cup of Caf-Pow right now, but I get neither.

In the afternoon, I sit next to Tony again. He´s still trying to get the solar cell connected to the chip, but the connection keeps falling off. He tries to fix it with some thread and it finally holds it in place. „Done...I just don´t know if it will work..." I get up and follow him out into the sun. The chip has a tiny LED to show if it is powered up. When we walk into the sun, there´s a tiny flash from that LED. „Hey, look at that... we just have to get it up towards the sun now." Tony says and grins.

I smile at him, but don´t really know what to say. He might have saved our lives with this, but somehow, I feel like it´s not over yet. „There´s a very tall palm right behind our campsite." I suggest and point at it. Indeed the palm is sticking out higher than the rest. It´s about 25 ft high and always in the sun, no matter what time of the day it is.

We stand around the palm and try to find a way up. Tony tried getting up twice, but every time he fell down and almost broke the chip at one point. „Maybe, I can lift you up high enough so you get a hold up there." He says and points at the spot where the palm grows more into a horizontal direction. Only the first 7 ft are rather steep.

I just nod and let him lift me. I reach out and get a hold. „Got it." I yell down and put my feet onto the palm. He hands me the chip and I climb up higher. The palm is swaying dangerously, but I can still hold on. The top is so close. I have a thread and a small board with me, that will hold the chip in place even if there´s a storm at night. I tie the chip to the board and the board to the crown of the palm. It sits there as if it was glued on with Abby´s special glue -nothing will get it off.

The LED jumps to life and I feel relieved. Now we have to hope that someone is still checking for our frequencies...it´s been a long time after all. I turn around to tell Tony, but before I can, I lose my balance. I can see Tony looking up, horror on his face. The palm is swaying around me, scratching my arms and the ground comes rushing towards me. I want to scream, but I can´t hear myself. Everything is gone all the sudden, all I hear is a sickening crack when my head hits the ground. For a second, I see Tony, his face ashen, but I´m not sure what exactly happened. I drift into complete darkness.


	10. Letting go, Abby´s POV

Tropical Nightmare- Chapter 10: Letting go(Abby´s POV)

Disclaimer: I don´t own any characters or anything!

Summary: Tony and Kate are sent to Argentina for an undercover mission, but they have to take a detour.They are bound to find out that atropical island can be a real nightmare -at least if you´re on your own out there...

Additional note: I usually don´t write 1st-person narrator, but it seemed to fit rather well for this little story as the POV changes with each chapter.Also, the use of present-tense is wanted here, eventhough it may seem a bit odd. I hope it´s still readable.

Personal note: Thanks to everyone who has read and reviewed the story so far. I must admit I´m surprised to get such a positive feedback, but I´m sure happy about it. (I think I should add that I´m not a native English-speaker (-writer), so I take it that I´m doing okay.) Hope you´ll like the rest as well.

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It´s been two and a half months now. Last Thursday is a day I will never forget. Gibbs finally told me to stop looking for those signals. Hearing this from him is something I won´t forget for the rest of my life. I really tried, but even I can´t do magic. On Monday it´s become official -their status is changed from MIA to KIA -I read those entries in their files, but I can´t feel anything. I know I can get into trouble, but I keep the frequency-search running on my second computer. I know 10 weeks is the maximum time for MIA, but still, it doesn´t seem right just to give them up. There have been cases of people who were rescued after as much as two years.

It has become quiet around here without them. I guess, I never realized just how much more there is to this job if you have the right co-workers around. It´s too late now, but I wish it wasn´t. I miss those days when they came in, arguing about something stupid, looking for someone to play judge. I miss having a girl´s night with Kate, I even miss Tony´s stupid little jokes, I just miss them, I guess.

„Abby? We´re there, let´s go." His voice brings me back to reality. The car is already parked in front of the chapel. There´s a lot of people here, but for now, the only person I see is Gibbs, who is waiting for me. I just nod and get out of the car. It´s so strange to see him like that -he hasn´t smiled once since it happened, which he rarely did before, but anyway and he´s not coming down to the lab for a drink of Caf-Pow, like he used to before. It´s not only them gone, a part of him has gone with them.

I sit down next to McGee and Gibbs. Ducky is there too. I can´t read his face, but I know he´s sad too. Someone put their pictures up, next to a bed of flowers. I know those pictures -they´re the ones from their files, both looking straight at the camera, no smile on the face. I want to jump up and tell everyone they´re not dead, but I´m not sure about that. I want to yell that Kate hates lilacs, but I can´t move. I feel like their pictures are watching me and yet I know it´s just a trick of my mind.

There are speeches and prayers, lots of them. I can´t follow what they are saying, but I remember that Kate was very religious. Her family is here. Her sister looks so much like Kate, I have to look twice to make sure it´s not Kate sitting there. Tony´s mom is there, too. Poor soul, she lost her husband a year ago and now her only son is gone as well. I know how she feels, my family is gone too and now I have lost my friends all at once. Two of them gone and two of them changed so much I hardly recognize them. Have I changed too? I don´t know, maybe Tim can tell me, but he´s become so quiet lately, he hardly ever talks to anyone.

I get up when everyone else does, unsure how much time has passed since the service started. They carry two white coffins, but they are empty. If there was someone inside, we would at least know that there´s no hope, but like this, how can we be sure? „Please, come back." I whisper, but no one hears me. We walk over to two freshly dug graves and they lower the coffins into them. The graves are next to each other and I can hear Kate complain that she is stuck so close to Tony yet again. I feel a smile creeping over my face, but I have to hide it. They wouldn´t understand.

It´s over and we drive back to headquarters. Gibbs hasn´t talked at all, but behind his eyes, I can see his mind racing. I walk to the elevator, he stays in the bullpen. When the doors close, I can see him standing at Kate´s desk, talking to her. I feel tears in my eyes, but I won´t allow them to roll.

Everything in the lab looks like I have left it, but there´s a new document in the printer, I haven´t seen before. It´s a map of something. I take a look at it and feel my heart beating like mad. I switch on the computer screen and there it is -a red dot, weak, but it´s clearly there. It hasn´t moved for the last five hours -that´s why I got that printout. I send a thankful prayer to heaven -thank you for GPRS technology. I grab the printout and run up the stairs. There´s no time to wait for the elevator.

Gibbs is still standing next to Kate´s desk. His face looks ashen and his eyes are those of a man too tired to fight. He looks at me with a puzzled look on his face, but he doesn´t say a thing. I think he doesn´t know I´ve kept looking for them. Will he be angry with me for not obeying his orders?

I take a deep breath and walk up to him. I notice he pulls his hand away from the desk suddenly. Maybe he thinks I didn´t notice. I show him the map. „I found that in the printer -it´s a GPRS signal...Tony´s signal..." I tell him and see his eyes lighten up. He takes the printout from me, carefully as if it could dissolve or vanish from the touch. „They´re alive, Gibbs...they´re still alive."

Helooks up to the ceiling for a moment before his eyesfocus on me.„You know, I should give you hell for not obeying my order, Miss Sciuto." He barks and I´m a bit surprised by his reaction. Before I really know if I should take a step back, I notice the sparkling in his eyes. "but...thanks for not giving up, Abbs." He takes his cell phone out and starts making arrangements. I know my job is done for now, but my heart is still beating like mad. While I walk back to the elevator, I have to smile. He called me Abbs again -he hasn´t done that ever since they disappeared. Maybe it will be a good day after all.


	11. Prayer, Tony´s POV

Tropical Nightmare- Chapter 11: Prayer(Tony´s POV)

Disclaimer: I don´t own any characters or anything!

Summary: Tony and Kate are sent to Argentina for an undercover mission, but they have to take a detour.They are bound to find out that atropical island can be a real nightmare -at least if you´re on your own out there...

Additional note: I usually don´t write 1st-person narrator, but it seemed to fit rather well for this little story as the POV changes with each chapter.Also, the use of present-tense is wanted here, eventhough it may seem a bit odd. I hope it´s still readable. I made up the Navy scout, so please don´t be too picky on the name or something like that.

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It´s early in the morning, but I just can´t sleep anymore. I listen to her breathing and I´m not sure if it has become weaker over the night or not. She looks so fragile, lying there with her eyes closed. I wish she would just open her eyes and look at me, but she hasn´t done that in two days now. I put my jacket over her body and run my hair through her hair. She doesn´t wake up from that, but she smiles a bit. That´s how I know that she hasn´t given up yet.

I remember the look on her face when she lost her balance, her eyes were calling out for help, but she didn´t make a sound when she fell. She has hit the ground head first, right onto a rock. It´s a miracle she didn´t break her spine or die from the impact. That tells me just how strong her will to live is. She hasn´t woken up though and there´s still a very faint bleeding from her ear that won´t stop. I wish I had listened to Ducky more closely.

A thin golden band is visible at the horizon when I walk across the beach. It could be such a wonderful morning, but knowing that this could be the day she takes a turn for worse scares me. I try not to show it, though no one would see. I reach the line between beach and water where the sand remains just dry enough not to get soaked when you sit down. After a moment, I drop to my knees and bow my head while the sun is steadily rising over the horizon, bathing everything in a beautiful golden light.

„Heavenly mother, or father or whoever can hear me right now...I know I haven´t been the most religious person in the world, but Kate is and this is for her. It´s my fault she fell down that tree and I would give anything to make it undone. I should have seen that it´s too dangerous to climb up there. I should have insisted on putting the chip somewhere else. If anyone is out there, please don´t let her die. I don´t know if she managed to activate that GPRS before she fell, but it just has to work. She´s the most wonderful person in the world. I would give my life for her, if I had to. I know, I haven´t been honest with her, I never told her how I felt, but please don´t let her die now. She deserves someone better than me, but at least, I want her to know." I started to feel stupid, lying in the cold sand and uttering these words, but they just come out like that. „I will go to church every Sunday, just do this one thing for me...Don´t let her die." I raise my head and look into the sun which has risen by now.

It´s getting warmer every minute and I just stay here in the sand for a while. Everything seems so peaceful and I wish Kate could see it. When I get up, I see some palm leaves lying around. The storm of last night must have torn them from the palms. They will make a nice cover for the night. While I gather them, I can hear a strange sound coming from the sea. There´s a shadow closing in on the beach, but I can´t make out what it is just yet. Without thinking, I start waving the leaves over my head. The sound grows louder, there´s a horn now. It echoes over the water and suddenly, I realize that they saw me.

They come closer and I can finally see two men in a small raft. It´s jumping over the waves and I can read the sign on the side. C-214 "Sacagawea ". I remember that name. It´s a scout we´ve been on for investigation about a year ago. The two men jump out of the raft and pull it on shore. One of them walks up to me and looks at a piece of paper. „Anthony Dinozzo?" He asks and I feel incredibly relieved. I can´t bring out a word, but after a few seconds I remember about Kate.

„Kate is hurt...She needs help." I tell him and he follows me to our camp. I don´t know what they thought of our little camp, I´ll probably never know, but it doesn´t matter. The older man leads me back to the raft and we drive off towards the waiting ship. They take me to a cabin, tell me to have a shower and dress in fresh clothes. There´s a navy uniform lying on the bed, a bit large, but I guess it will fit. Looking around, I realize just how dirty I must seem to them. I throw my clothes into the trash can and walk into the adjacent bathroom.

The hot water feels wonderful, it´s like being in heaven, but I can´t enjoy it. When I get dressed, I hear the motor of the small raft outside. There are people shouting orders and a few minutes later, the machines roar beneath me. We are moving, away from that island and towards a better place. A knock on the door startles me. A young man comes in. „We´ve got some breakfast at the pantry for you. I´ll show you the way." He says and leads me into a room with a large table and some chairs. I remember this room, we´ve been holding interrogations here. I look at the chair on the right side of the counter. Kate sat right there.

30 minutes later I empty my cup for the third time, but the coffee tastes like water. I can´t force myself to like it. They brought Kate to their infirmary, but they won´t let me see her yet. Another officer walks in. I remember his face somehow, he was the navigator a year ago, I think. „We´ll meet an helicopter in about an hour. It will take both of you to the Navy hospital in Austin, Texas. That´s the closest on-shore facility. We´ll have to airlift you up to the chopper, but there´s no other way. They can decide there whether to send you back to Washington or have you stay there for a while." he says and smiles.

Four hours have passed. I haven´t seen Kate longer than an hour. They brought her into the helicopter, her head in a white bandage and her broken arm in an auxiliary cast. They took her away after we landed in Austin. A nurse has been asking me dozens of questions over the last hour. I´m just tired now, but I don´t think I can sleep. All I can think of is Kate, but they won´t let me see her, say she´s in surgery at the moment. I look out of the window. Letting the past days and weeks go by, I can see another face and I wonder if anyone has told him yet.


	12. Waiting, Gibbs´ POV

Tropical Nightmare- Chapter 12: Waiting(Gibbs´ POV)

Disclaimer: I don´t own any characters or anything!

Summary: Tony and Kate are sent to Argentina for an undercover mission, but they have to take a detour.They are bound to find out that atropical island can be a real nightmare -at least if you´re on your own out there...

Additional note: I usually don´t write 1st-person narrator, but it seemed to fit rather well for this little story as the POV changes with each chapter.Also, the use of present-tense is wanted here, eventhough it may seem a bit odd. I hope it´s still readable.

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It´s been 10 hours now, but no news. I know the coast guard has notified each and every ship in that area, but I haven´t heard from anyone yet. I keep walking up and down the bullpen, they´ll probably need new carpet when this is over. McGee is watching me, I could tell him to mind his own business, but somehow, this is his business too. I´ve been down to the lab at least a dozen times today. Abby was asleep once, I think she slept about as much as I have lately.

Ducky keeps trying to send me home, but he´d have to force me out today. I´m not going anywhere until I know something about that signal. Maybe it was just a coincidence -someone accidentally sending his signal on the same frequency or something like that. I´m not sure what to think, but I can´t let McGee notice how much this is getting me, so I try to put on a poker face.

He´s looking at me again, why? I listen up and realize it´s my phone that´s ringing. The caller ID doesn´t tell me who it is -extern call. "Gibbs?" I say and take a deep breath. Maybe it is just my insurance company, trying to sell me another health care, they´ve been trying for just about two weeks now and won´t accept a no. The voice on the other end of the line is not my insurance agent. I feel my hands shaking and try to calm down.

"This is Captain Rogers, Commander of the Sacagawea." He introduces himself and I brace myself for his next words. He´ll tell you they found nothing. I think, but how can I be so sure? I don´t know. "We have checked out those coordinates you´ve sent us. Our scout team reported two persons on that island. I don´t know any details, but the describtion matches your missing agents. You will be notified as soon as we have them aboard." The line was cut again and I just stand there. The phone drops to the ground, but I don´t even notice until McGee picks it up.

"Boss?" He asks tentatively and I can hear anticipation in his voice.

I look at him, I don´t know how much my eyes tell him, but I feel tears burning in them. I never cry in public -especially not in front of my team, but right now, it´s hard to hold the tears back. I look down to the ground for a moment, calming my breath before I look at him again. "They found Kate and Tony out there -alive." I just tell him.

For a few moments, I watch McGee jumping around in the bullpen, like a child who got a new bike. He calms down again when he notices me looking at him. "That´s wonderful. Can I tell Abby?" I just nod and he takes off towards the lab. It´s a fine team I have here. It takes times like these to realize it, but it was so different since they were gone. No matter how much their little arguments annoy me sometimes, now I miss them.

My phone starts ringing again. It´s the Rogers again. He asks me to switch to video conferencing for some reason. I agree and walk into the conference room. The screen on the wall jumps to life. It´s not Rogers in front of that camera. "Tony..." He smiles, but it´s just halfheartedly. After a moment I realize that he´s alone. "Where´s Kate?"


	13. Reflection, Tony´s POV

Tropical Nightmare- Chapter 13: Reflection (Tony´s POV)

Disclaimer: I don´t own any characters or anything!

Summary: Tony and Kate are sent to Argentina for an undercover mission, but they have to take a detour.They are bound to find out that atropical island can be a real nightmare -at least if you´re on your own out there...

Additional note: I usually don´t write 1st-person narrator, but it seemed to fit rather well for this little story as the POV changes with each chapter.Also, the use of present-tense is wanted here, eventhough it may seem a bit odd. I hope it´s still readable.

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I remember the look on his face when I told him that Kate was hurt. I remember the look in his eyes when I told him it´s serious. I remember the tone in his voice when he told me he´s coming to Austin. He´s scared. I never thought I would see him like this, but I did. He´s Gibbs, he has always been Gibbs, but now I know he´s got a different side too. Kate has been hurt before, I have been hurt before and so has almost everyone else around, but still I´ve never seen him like this. I don´t know what happened while we were missing. Maybe he will tell me once he gets here.

I shake those thoughts off and turn my attention back to my surroundings. There are IV-bags on a stand next to the bed, monitors for just about everything. I look at the face on the pillow, but I hardly recognize her. There´s a tube helping her breath, another one feeding her. I try to see Kate there, but I just can´t. I get up and leave the room, tears in my eyes. They told me she´s in bad shape, maybe she won´t even make it through the night. If you want to see her, please hurry. I tell Gibbs in my thoughts. She made it so far, but I´m not sure how much more she can endure.

I look out of the window at the end of the corridor. Only a few stars are visible against the orange sky over the city. Rain is falling and I can hear the sound of the drops hitting the glass. There are steps behind me -I´ve heard them so often I could recognize them among a million others. "Hi, boss." I tell him without turning around. He doesn´t need to see me cry.

I expect some remark from him about us wrecking so much surveillance equipment, but he doesn´t say a word. I can see his reflection in the window now. I finally turn around and look at him. There are tears in his eyes too, but of course he tries to hide them. "Are you all right?" He asks and puts his hand on my shoulder.

Suddenly, I feel like a heavy burden is lifted from my shoulders. No, I won´t cry. Not here, not in front of him, but the tears are stronger. I´m just relieved that there´s no one else out here at this time. For just a few moments, he´s not my boss. He´s just a friend right now and I allow myself to cry in front of him. There are tears in his eyes as well, but then, I´m not sure if they really were tears or just the reflection of the raindrops on the window. "You want to see her?" I ask and swallow the rest of the tears down.

"Sure." He follows me and I notice how he braces himself when I open the door. I can see his heart break the second he lies his eyes on her. "What did they say?" Gibbs asks and sits down next to the bed.

"She´s got some bleeding in her brain -they´re not sure if it will stop. If it does, there´s a chance that she´ll recover. They don´t know if there´s any permanent damage though." I say and feel my heart beating like mad. The last two months have been hard, but looking into his eyes now, seeing how much worry there is in them, is harder than everything else.

Somebody once told me that NCIS can become your family, if you´re there long enough. I´ve been working with Gibbs for four years now, Kate has been with us for a little over two years and McGee jumped on half a year ago. I´ve known Abby and Ducky as long as I´ve known Gibbs, but until today, I never realized just how close we are. They have become my family and I have become a part of theirs. Kate is special to me, I feel so different when she´s there, but now I just miss her.

I step back and let him be with her for a moment. I know they are close, I don´t know why, but I know it´s a different kind of being close than what I feel for her. I watch him talk to her, holding her hand, stroking over her head, but I´m not jealous. I think I would be if it was anyone else, but this is Gibbs and I know there´s no need to be jealous. After a few minutes, I pull up the second chair and sit down next to the bed as well. "She looks so fragile." Gibbs says and there´s something in his voice I have never heard before.

I just nod. "But she´ll fight. She´s been strong for so long, she can do this." I reply, but I´m not sure if I can believe in my own words. We watch her a moment longer, then he gets up and walks to the door. I get up as well and follow him. Outside on the corridor he walks up to the window I have been standing at before.

"I will talk to the doctors in the morning and see that they can transfer her to Bethesda. She´ll be closer to home there and we can take turns visiting her." He says and stares out into the darkness. I´m not sure what to reply. Maybe, I was on that island too long to remember how to have a decent conversation with someone. "Where are you staying at, Tony?" He asks after a moment and I note that he´s using my first name without me doing anything wrong all the sudden.

I shrug. "Here, I guess. They gave me a bed up in the surgical ward, wanted to get me checked and all like that, but they didn´t find anything." I wonder why he´s asking, but then, he manages to surprise me again.

"I´ve got something settled at the local base, it´s just two blocks from here. Just a small apartment, two bedrooms though. Just in case you want to trade the hospital bed for a real one and the heat-up menue for some chinese take-out." Gibbs says and there´s something that looks like a smile on his face. I´m sure my mind is tricking me -Gibbs never smiles, especially not when I´m around. I hesitate for a moment and try to make up my mind. "Make that an order, Agent Dinozzo. Go grab whatever stuff you got and let´s get going. I´ll be waiting in the parking lot."

He just walks off and lets me stand here. I´m trying to figure out if I am dreaming or if they have sent a clone or something. That´s definetely not the same man who put me and Kate on that FedEx-plane. I quickly return to Kate and tell her that I´ll be gone for a while, then take off towards the parking lot. I have nothing I could take along and that fact earns me a questioning look from Gibbs. I´m still wearing that navy uniform, but in a place like this it doesn´t look odd.

He´s standing next to a black van, rental car probably. When I walk up without anything in my hands, he gives me a questioning look. "No toothbrush? Gee, Dinozzo, that´s disgusting." He says, but I can see the smile in his eyes.

"Well, let´s trade places and you go on a survival trip to an island without anything." I bite back and he gets into the van. "Maybe there´s a 24-hour-store on the way. I could need a toothbrush and some other things, now that you mention it." I say and realize that I don´t have any money either.

He smiles and reaches for something on the backseat. "I figured that you might have lost your personal belongings, along with half a ton of NCIS equipment. Ducky and Abby put some stuff for you together." He says and I look at the object in his hand. It´s a small grocery bag, but there are several items inside.

I pry it open and suddenly I can feel tears in my eyes. I don´t know why, they are just there. I pull one object after the other out of the bag. There´s my spare purse which I had in my desk, a new driver´s license, new badge, new gun, just about everything I thought lost. When I look more closely, there´s about $ 40 in there as well and a folded note. "Hey, Tony. We thought you could need some cash down there -don´t want to rely on Gibbs to pay, right? We hope Kate will be okay and come home soon, missed you guys. Abby, McGee, Ducky, Palmer."


	14. Family, Gibbs´ POV

Tropical Nightmare- Chapter 14: Family (Gibbs´ POV)

Disclaimer: I don´t own any characters or anything!

Summary: Tony and Kate are sent to Argentina for an undercover mission, but they have to take a detour.They are bound to find out that atropical island can be a real nightmare -at least if you´re on your own out there...

Additional note: I usually don´t write 1st-person narrator, but it seemed to fit rather well for this little story as the POV changes with each chapter.Also, the use of present-tense is wanted here, eventhough it may seem a bit odd. I hope it´s still readable.

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It´s simply amazing how much the team has grown together. I haven´t seen Tony like this ever -usually, he is a show-off with a big mouth and a lot of talent for his work. He manages to set Kate off with just as much as two or three words, which I think is amazing. It takes me a lot more to get her to that point. I know there´s something special between them. To me, Kate is like a familymember I have to look after, a younger sister maybe, but to Tony she seems to be more, much more if I´m not mistaken.

I don´t know what it will be like when they´re back at work after these events. I hope they come back, especially Kate. It´s not easy for a senior agent to admit that, but she´s the soul of the team. I have to smile as I think about that in greater detail. It´s really like some kind of family. If one would consider me as the man in the house, I suppose Kate is the female counterpart to that. Ducky is the wise guy, Tony is a teenager and Abby, well, Abby is Abby. There´s no way to describe her any different from that. For some reason, I haven´t had the chance or the mood to think about them like this before. I guess I was too involved with the work or with being the boss. It´s strange that such a terrible thing had to happen before I got to that point.

"Want to stop at the gas station or would you prefer a convenience store?" I ask Tony, who is still staring at the note. I feel myself smile. It´s been a nice gesture of them to put his stuff back together. They asked me to help, but I have something different planned to show them how much I value them -and how relieved I am to have them back.

"Uhm...convenience would be better, I don´t think the gas station is offering razors and toothbrushes, let alone a decent shirt or something like that." He replies and I pull up to the 24-hour-store right next to the housing area. I decide to wait in the car while Tony goes to get his stuff. This way, I have a little more time to think about everything. "Want a coffee, boss?" He calls from the entrance and I give him a nod. It´s never too late for a caffein boost.

I lean back and look up to the roof of the car. Before we left the hospital, I have talked to one of the doctors, who take care of Kate. I asked him about a transfer to Bethesda, but he said that her condition doesn´t allow that yet. I remember when I got shot on an assignment or rather say, I remember what Ducky told me about it later on. He told me that they got me back home without problems, eventhough from what I understood, they regarded me as critical. I wonder just how seriously she has been hurt if they are not risking to transport her.

The door on the other side of the car opens and two bags fly onto the backseat. Tony jumps back into the car and hands me a large cup of coffee. "They only got regular, no extra-strong. Sorry, boss." He tells me and puts his seatbelt back on.

"Never apologize, remember, Dinozzo?" I tell him and suddenly I can literally see how he tenses up. "I´m sorry, Tony. Bad habits don´t vanish from a day outside the office." I tell him and he grins.

"Now it´s you apologizing. I should note that day in my calendar." He says and I pull onto the road again. The apartment is tiny, just a small kitchen that stretches almost to the porch, a couch and a TV-set near the dining table seem to serve as livingroom. There are three doors, first one is a bathroom, the other two are bedrooms. "Wow, and I thought my place is small." Tony says and walks into the bathroom. "That´s even smaller than Abby´s."

I raise an eyebrow at his remark and wonder how well the rest of the team knows each other. I´ve never been to any of their places, except for Kate´s apartment that is, but that´s a different story. I´ve heard about Abby´s place. They say it´s so small you couldn´t fit my desk in it. I wonder if it´s really so small or if it´s a hint that my desk is too big. I´m the boss after all, but sometimes, I wonder what the use of those six monitors is supposed to be. I use two, three at the most and only when there´s lots going on.

I sit down on the couch and finish the coffee from the store. For a moment, I ponder to turn on the TV, but a glance at my watch tells me that it´s way too late already. When I look around, I notice that Tony is watching me. "How are you doing, Tony?" I ask and he seemes to wake up from his daydream. He sits down on the other side of the couch and turns the cup in his hands.

"I´m just a bit confused, I guess. Seems like yesterday that we got on that plane, but it´s been more than two months. It was summer when we left and now the leaves have turned red and yellow already. Kate loves the indian fall, did you know that? She told me so when we were out there." His voice trails off and I realize he´s lost in his memories. "The island was beautiful, palmtrees everywhere, an endless beach. With a decent hotel, those months could have been wonderful."

I just listen to him. He talks about their camp and how they collected the parcels, how he felt bad for using other people´s belongings. He tells me about the first days with nothing but fish, coconut and bananas. I can´t imagine how that would be for me -no coffee and not even a decent steak. I catch myself thinking how much they have endured and how miraculous it is to have them back here. He tells me how Kate got hurt, how he had no idea if she had managed to activate the chip before falling. I figure that they were really lucky.

A while later, we both go to bed. Tomorrow is going to be another day, a better one, I hope. As I lie in the creaking bed, I wonder how my life would be without these people. I can´t imagine it. To my mind, they are my family and they will always be. I have been married three times, but I have never felt as safe and happy as I do now within the team. I would never tell anyone -they would call me mental for sure, but that´s how it is. Family is not just blood relations, it´s about trust and friendship more than anything else.


	15. Silence, Abby´s POV

Tropical Nightmare- Chapter 15: Silence (Abby´s POV)

Disclaimer: I don´t own any characters or anything!

Summary: Tony and Kate are sent to Argentina for an undercover mission, but they have to take a detour.They are bound to find out that atropical island can be a real nightmare -at least if you´re on your own out there...

Additional note: I usually don´t write 1st-person narrator, but it seemed to fit rather well for this little story as the POV changes with each chapter.Also, the use of present-tense is wanted here, eventhough it may seem a bit odd. I hope it´s still readable.

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It´s been a week since they found them. A week since we learned that Kate was hurt. A week full of hope and questions. A week without Gibbs around. He left for Austin the same day he got that call from Tony. I haven´t heard from him ever since. Tony called yesterday when I was at home. He couldn´t talk long since he was using the local phone at the hospital. He sounded tired somehow and there aren´t any news on Kate yet. I keep hoping that she´ll make it, but the doctors are not raising much hope. She´s in a deep coma and the bleeding is still there. They say, she is lucky that it´s bleeding to the outside and not leading to a brain hemorrhage. I don´t know if it´s something you should call lucky.

I miss them, Kate most of all, but also Tony and Gibbs. It´s weird, ´cause when Gibbs is around, I wish that he´s gone and when he´s gone, I hope he´ll come back soon. He has changed a lot, I think. Maybe he has been thinking about how we do our job here -it´s not like working really. I mean, we sure do work here, but it doesn´t feel like that. It´s more like doing something you really like with people whom you really like. Hard to explain, but that´s the gut feeling I have about NCIS.

I cast a look at the stereo on the other wall. There´s a film of dust forming on the speakers. A sign that I haven´t turned it on in quite a while. Maybe I should, but on the other hand, I like having this silence around me right now. When I close my eyes and ignore the sounds of my three computers, I can hear Kate´s voice around me. The way she came rushing in with some evidence or to remind me of our movie-night. I have to smile when I remember that. I hope she´ll be okay and we can have those times again.

The door opens and I see Ducky coming in. "Hello there, Abigail." He greets me and I smile at him. He´s probably the only person in the world who uses my actual name, but that makes it special somehow. "I was wondering if you would keep me company for lunch today." He puts his lab coat away and looks at me.

I get up and save the results on the computer. "Sure, I´d love to." I reply and put my coat away too. We walk out of the building and he leads me to a small italian restaurant, just a block away. I remember this place. We had lunch here before, all of us did. Tony always had pasta with olives, Kate took a vegetable pizza and I had grilled tofu and vegetables. I don´t remember what Ducky and Gibbs had, I think they always changed their mind. We sit down at a table near the window and order our food. Ducky is getting pasta and ham.

Somehow, there´s a different look in Ducky´s eyes today. I´m not a profiler like Kate or a detective like Tony, but I do notice those things. "What´s the matter, Ducky? You look like you´re hiding something." I tell him and he smiles a bit. I´m not sure what to make of his reaction. I know he has talked to Gibbs at least twice this week, but he never told me anything about it.

He takes a sip from his water and looks at me for a moment. "Jethro has called me last night, Abigail. He told me that Kate´s condition hasn´t changed at all. The doctors are pretty much clueless what to do." He tells me and from the tone in his voice, I know this is serious. My mouth feels dry and I can hear the blood rushing in my ears. A slight smile creeps over his face. "Do not be worried, girl. She´s not worse either, you know? The doctors from Austin have been conferencing with the ones from Bethesda. They have agreed to transfer her to Bethesda and see what they can do here. After all, it´s one of the best hospitals we have."

I can´t believe what I´m hearing. They´re bringing her home -that means all three of them will come back. "Wow." I say, there´s nothing else that comes to my mind this moment. "When, Ducky? When are they coming home?" I ask and there´s this grin on his face again.

Someone puts his hands on my shoulders from behind me and I jump. "Hey, Abbs." I recognize Gibbs and Tony standing behind me. "Missed us? Ducky has been complaining that there´s no music in the lab." Gibbs tells me and laughs about my face. Without really thinking about it, I jump up and hug both of them. After a second, I realize what I am doing and pull back.

"It´s so good to have you back." I tell them as they sit down with us and order their food. We talk a lot about what has happened. "So, Kate is in Bethesda now?" I ask after finishing my lunch.

Tony just nods. "Yeah, they say they want to run more tests on her. They´ve done that all week -test after test and another test for those tests. Kate would hate it if she had a choice." He says and I notice how sad he looks. His eyes are tired and he seems exhausted -mostly mentally, but also physically.

There´s a long silence around the table until Ducky gets up. "If you would excuse me, I have another autopsy this afternoon and I think Mr. Palmer is already waiting for me. I will see all of you later." He says, puts a $20 bill on the table and leaves. Tony uses the chance and leaves as well, he says, he´s going home to get his mail straightened out. He´ll be on leave for the rest of the week, which is another two days before the weekend.

I notice that Gibbs is looking at me. "What?" I ask him and he smiles. It´s one of those smiles you don´t get to see every day.

"I´m just glad to be back home. That apartment was awful, you know." He says, but I know that´s not all there is. "I just realized how close we are, I mean, the team. I´ve never thought about thinking about it like this, but somehow, this is what I would call family. And don´t call me mental now, I will argue everything I said before if you do."

I´m surprised by this revelation. "It´s good to know that all of us have finally gotten there." I tell him and decide to leave as well. There´s work waiting for me at the lab and there won´t be silence much longer when I´m around.


	16. Nowhere, Kate´s POV

Tropical Nightmare- Chapter 16: Nowhere (Kate´s POV)

Disclaimer: I don´t own any characters or anything!

Summary: Tony and Kate are sent to Argentina for an undercover mission, but they have to take a detour.They are bound to find out that atropical island can be a real nightmare -at least if you´re on your own out there...

Additional note: I usually don´t write 1st-person narrator, but it seemed to fit rather well for this little story as the POV changes with each chapter.Also, the use of present-tense is wanted here, eventhough it may seem a bit odd. I hope it´s still readable.

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The silence is so complete. I feel myself floating in the middle of nowhere, but I can´t see anything. It´s not dark, actually everything is bright white. I have no feeling for time or space and it feels wonderful. Once in a while, the silence is disturbed by a sound. It´s nothing I have heard before. Just a sound. Some of the sounds seem to remind me of something, but my mind is empty. There is a short moment where I ask myself who I am and where, but there is no answer.

Another sound is breaking through the silence and the white surroundings are shimmering for a moment. There are shadows, like a picture behind shattered glass. I should know what that shadow is, but again, my mind is empty. Even when I close my eyes, I still see my surroundings. It´s a strange feeling, like something that can´t be, but I can´t say why it can´t be. I don´t know anything else beside this after all.

There´s a blurr in my vision, like something invading my space. I hear different sounds now, not only one like before. The picture looks like a person, but how do I know? Suddenly, there are pictures in my mind, names and sounds, but I don´t know where they come from. The silence is gone now and the noise is everywhere. I want to hide from it, go back to that white nowhere I have felt so safe in, but I can´t find it.

"Kate." A single word comes through, but what does it mean? My mind tries to process the word or sound or whatever it is. It has some meaning, I can feel that, but I´m not sure what it is. I feel myself more clearly now. A head, two arms, two legs and a body. I haven´t felt that before, but somehow, I know this is real. "Kate!" That word again, but what does it mean? I try to remember, I really do. For a moment, I feel like something is pulling on me. My surroundings become clearer, but I can´t move at all. My eyes are still shut and yet I can see shadows around me and hear voices talking. The sounds suddenly make sense to me. It´s people talking, many people, well I can´t really say that for sure, but it´s more than one voice.

Those voices are telling stories. Stories I don´t know, but I like to listen to them. Their voices are so real, I feel like I just have to reach out a bit to touch them. I try once, but it hurts so much. The surroundings change to a darker color, maybe not another color, just less light perhaps. My mind is racing, trying to process all the information it is getting now. There´s this one voice again. I´m so sure it´s familiar. I´m so sure it reminds me of something. I want to reach out for it, touch it, but there´s the pain again. The words become so clear when I try to reach out.

"We miss you, Kate...I miss you." The voice says and suddenly, there´s a face to that voice. Grey hair, a strict face and an incredible smile. I don´t know where the picture comes from, but I know it´s familiar. I wish I had a voice that could reach out to the other one. My mind tells me, I have one, but I don´t know where it is. My mind tells me all I have to do is reach out, but I´m afraid of more pain.

It´s getting cold, so very cold here. I can still hear the voice and I feel like it´s so much warmer there. I have no idea where this place is that the voice comes from, but I know I can reach it. It will be nicer there, not so cold, even if it hurts. I pull my strength together and reach out. The pain is cutting through me like a hot knife, but this time I´m not pulling back. I keep reaching and find the name to that voice. "Gibbs..." I hear a different voice saying and realize that it´s mine. The pictures have changed and I notice that my eyes are open now.

It feels like I´m falling through ice, cold and hot alternating. Everything seems to spin around me and for a moment, I can see that bright nowhere again. I could go back within a breath and I know the pain would end, but somehow, there is a pair of blue eyes that keep pulling me away from that nowhere. I hurt everywhere, I want to cry, but I can´t. I want to get away, but I can´t move. There is something warm on my head that keeps me here. It´s this warmth that is forcing me to get over the pain and reach out.


	17. Angel, Gibbs´ POV

Tropical Nightmare- Chapter 17: Angel (Gibbs´POV)

Disclaimer: I don´t own any characters or anything!

Summary: Tony and Kate are sent to Argentina for an undercover mission, but they have to take a detour.They are bound to find out that atropical island can be a real nightmare -at least if you´re on your own out there...

Additional note: I usually don´t write 1st-person narrator, but it seemed to fit rather well for this little story as the POV changes with each chapter.Also, the use of present-tense is wanted here, eventhough it may seem a bit odd. I hope it´s still readable.

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It´s the 3rd week since they brought her to Bethesda. The 3rd week we are waiting for some news. Tony is running the investigations on a murder, it´s a good chance for him to prove himself. I´ve been at the office every day, checking on their work, but everything seems to go well. They are still silent most the time, you can feel that someone is missing there. I´ve been sitting next to her bed for two hours now. It´s the same as every day. I keep talking to her, telling her about what´s going on at NCIS, telling her I miss her. I would give my left arm to have her back, but I know I don´t have the power to decide that.

She´s a bit agitated today. Her EEG and heartbeat are changing once in a while. I don´t know what´s going on with her, but the doctors say, it´s normal. I´m going to ask Ducky about it when he gets here, but it´s another three hours before he gets off from work. He told me last night that I changed since this happened. I don´t know if I did. Maybe, I just realized how fragile a life can be and how easy it is to destroy one. I take a cloth and dab the sweat from her face. She looks like she´s fighting. Maybe I just hope she is, but knowing Kate, I wonder what she feels right now.

"We miss you, Kate." I tell her and hesitate for a moment. "I miss you." I put my hand on her forehead and smile at her. I don´t know if she hears or feels me, nobody does. I just don´t want her to be alone. Her breathing is deeper all the sudden and her heartbeat is jumping up to almost 80 again. The alert won´t go off until it goes up to 100, but it hasn´t done so yet. I keep my hand on her head. Her eyes seem to flutter, but I´ve seen that happen a couple of times already.

I keep watching her closely. The signals on the monitors seem much stronger, but I´m no doctor to interpret them. Suddenly, there´s a sound. A sound I can´t sort into a category at first, but then, I can feel my blood freeze. "Gibbs..." It´s her voice. For a moment, I think I must be hallucinating, but when I look at her, I meet her dark eyes.

"Kate." I stroke her head while my other hand hits the call button. She is still looking at me, smiles weakly. The door bursts open and the doctor comes in. He takes a quick look at her, she stayed awake long enough so he could see her awake, but then her eyes close again. I am ordered out of the room, but I can watch them through the window. They are drawing blood again, printing out something from the machines.

My hands tighten into fists. "You can do it, Kate. Don´t give up." I whisper to myself, but I can´t take my eyes off her. Maybe I should call Ducky, but I want to know first. They are taking long today, but I can wait. I have waited so long. If there are angels somewhere, I´m sure at least one has watched over her all the time. There´s no other explanation for what´s happening. I´m a bit surprised by that thought. I´ve never been very religious or something.

The doctor finally comes out, there seems to be a smile on his face, but you can never really tell. "As far as I can tell, she´s awake again. I can´t explain how this could happen, but she´s merely asleep now. You may go back inside, if you want to. Just don´t wake her up, she needs to rest. Although I have to wait for the lab results, I think that she will recover, maybe even completely. The EEG shows no signs of permanent damage." He says and I feel relieved. I thank him and then head down the corridor until I´m standing in front of a window.

I pull out my cell phone and switch it on again. I can´t leave it on when I´m in her room, there are too many machines. It seems to take hours until I get into the menu. I ponder how I should tell them, then decide to call Ducky. It rings twice. "NCIS, Mallard." He answers the phone and I know he´s using the one down in autopsy that doesn´t have a caller ID.

"Duck, it´s Gibbs. Get the rest and come over here. Now." I tell him, hiding the excitement in my voice. I can almost picture what´s going on over there right now. As I know Ducky, he will be fearing the worst. He´s going to usher them into the truck and break at least 20 laws on the drive. Calculating the distance to headquarters, I decide that there´s enough room for a cup of coffee.

I finish up the coffee I got from a nurse and walk up to the entrance of the ICU. I can´t go out without changing into normal clothes, but for now, I decide to stay in the protective clothing. Just as I am thinking about that, there are four people running out of the elevator. I have to smile when I look at them. Abby still has her lab coat on, so does Ducky. Tony has his backpack with him, but no jacket and McGee is still holding a file in his hand. They´re a wonderful bunch and I´m proud to be their boss. I motion them to get changed and wait outside the changing room.

Abby is done first and almost crashes into me when she bursts out of the room. "What´s wrong?" She asks immediately, but I´m waiting for all of them.

Ducky and Tony are done next, McGee is just a few seconds after them. For someone looking at us, we must be a weird looking group. All dressed in green protective clothing, hairnets on and wearing gloves. I lead them into the waiting room at the end of the corridor and sit down. They are looking at me as if I´m going to hand out christmas presents. I wonder, if I should just tell them, but I decide to let them hang in there a little longer. "Ducky, can I talk to you for a moment?" I ask and he gets up right away. We walk out into the corridor and I take him to Kate´s room.

"Jethro, what is this all about? Is something wrong with Caitlin?" He asks and I note the concern in his voice. He gives me a questioning look as we walk into the room. I´m not going to wake her up, but the doc told me that she wouldn´t sleep very long at once anyway. Ducky walks up to her bed and takes her hand, like he always did. "Hello, Caitlin. It´s good to see you today." He says, his normal greeting for her, but then his eyes widen as her eyes open slowly.

"Ducky." She´s smiling again, very weak, but still smiling. Her eyes are full with questions, but she knows that she has to wait before she can ask them.

I´m standing at the end of the bed, smiling at the scene in front of me. Ducky puts her hand back onto the blanket and pulls me out into the corridor. "Jethro, when did she wake up?" He asks, completely overwhelmed as it seems. I tell him what happened and ask him not to tell the rest. He´s a bit upset with me for pulling this on them, but agrees. He knows me better than to object.


	18. Waiting again, Tony´s POV

Tropical Nightmare- Chapter 18: Waiting again (Tony´s POV)

Disclaimer: I don´t own any characters or anything!

Summary: Tony and Kate are sent to Argentina for an undercover mission, but they have to take a detour.They are bound to find out that atropical island can be a real nightmare -at least if you´re on your own out there...

Additional note: I usually don´t write 1st-person narrator, but it seemed to fit rather well for this little story as the POV changes with each chapter.Also, the use of present-tense is wanted here, eventhough it may seem a bit odd. I hope it´s still readable.

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I don´t understand why he called us here all of the sudden. At first, I thought Kate had taken a turn for worse, but there´s no red light above her room, no sign for an emergency at all. It´s quiet in this ward, I guess that´s what an ICU has to be like. Ducky once told me that people in a coma are in some kind of very deep sleep. Nobody knows if they can hear what is going on around them, but there have been cases in which a mother reacts to her child´s voice or a child to the voice of his parents.

I´m looking around and meet Abby´s eyes. There are questions in them and I wonder if she can see the same in my eyes right now. McGee is staring at the lonely rose that is standing in a glass on the table. He gets up after a moment and takes the glass into his hand. "Needs more water." He just says and walks out of the waiting room. Sometimes he amazes me. I mean, I use to call him probie most of the time, eventhough he´s doing the work of a full agent. I use to tease him a lot eventhough he´s a good kid. And still, he doesn´t seem to take any offense from my actions. He´s still the same nice guy he was when he first walked into the bullpen.

There are steps coming towards us and I look up. It´s Gibbs. I look around for Ducky, but he´s probably still with Kate. I´m not sure what he´s thinking right now, his face is cleared of all emotions and I know he won´t give himself away by looking straight at me. Something has happened, but there´s no way of knowing what, as long as he doesn´t tell us. "Come on, let´s go." He tells us and casts a questioning look at McGee, who is just coming back with the rose. "Better not be for me, McGee." Gibbs tells him with a grin on his face and walks back towards Kate´s room.

Before I really know it, we´re standing around her bed. Nobody speaks, we just look around. I notice that one of the tubes is gone, the one that helped her breathing. I listen carefully and watch her chest rising softly. She´s breathing on her own again, without any help. That´s something good, I think, but why did Gibbs want us to come so quickly? "Anthony, why don´t you go ahead and sit with her for a moment." Ducky says and points at the chair next to her bed.

I don´t remember how many nights I spent on that chair, holding her hand and telling her how much I miss her. Before this happened, I never had the guts to tell her that she´s more than just a partner for me. We are friends, but my feelings for her are deeper than that. I take her hand, but I feel odd today because everyone is watching. I can feel Gibbs´ eyes burning a hole into my back, but when I feel the warmth of her skin against mine, I don´t care anymore. "Hey, Kate. It´s me again, the talking idiot." I tell her and see how Abby is fighting to keep her face straight. There are tears in her eyes. I know that they are close, but they seem to be closer than I thought.

While I´m distracted by Abby, I notice how her hand tightens around mine. She had some involuntary muscle movements before, but not like this. I turn my eyes back on her and for a moment, I think I´m dying here and now. I forget everything around me as I look into her dark eyes and see that smile on her lips. "You´re no idiot." Her voice is more a whisper than anything, but I can hear her clear as a bell. I´m not sure if the rest heard it, but they can see that she´s awake now.

My hand is shaking, but I don´t let her go. "I thought, I would never see another smile of yours." I tell her and the smile widens. It´s like a miracle to see her like that again. I had almost given up hoping for this moment, but now I can´t believe it´s finally there. Her eyes move a bit to the side and she´s focussing on somebody else. I turn a bit and see Abby standing behind me, tears running down her face, smearing the black eyeshadow. I realize that Gibbs is holding her from behind and I get up to let her sit down.

I walk back and let McGee get closer. I know that I will have more time to talk to her later. Right now, the others should get a chance to be with her. I don´t know if McGee has been here at all. He looks a bit nervous, but his eyes are sparkling as well. I back off a bit and bump into someone. When I turn around, I notice that it´s Gibbs. I want to apologize, but he motions me not to speak. There´s so much magic around in this moment, the magic of life.

I walk back towards the elevator with the others. Abby is still shaken, but smiling again. Ducky is walking next to her, his hand on her arm to make sure she´s okay. McGee is talking without a break now, he seems to be back to himself finally. Gibbs just nods everything off and then turns around towards me. "I´ve got some things to take care off. Do you mind staying with her for a while until one of us can come back?" He asks and I see a smile on his face. He seems to know that I need some time with her now.

I just nod. "Sure. See you later." I watch the doors of the elevator close and wait until they´re gone. When I walk back, I keep wondering if I just dreamed the whole thing, but looking at her in that bed tells me that everything really happened. I sit down and take her hand again. "I missed you. I almost thought, I lost you out there." I tell her silently and wait. It´s not the same kind of waiting now, it´s not waiting for her to wake up from the coma. It´s waiting for her to get stronger and recover. I don´t mind this kind of waiting at all, no matter how long it´s going to take.


	19. Struggle, Kate´s POV

Tropical Nightmare- Chapter 19: Struggle (Kate´s POV)

Disclaimer: I don´t own any characters or anything!

Summary: Tony and Kate are sent to Argentina for an undercover mission, but they have to take a detour.They are bound to find out that atropical island can be a real nightmare -at least if you´re on your own out there...

Additional note: I usually don´t write 1st-person narrator, but it seemed to fit rather well for this little story as the POV changes with each chapter.Also, the use of present-tense is wanted here, eventhough it may seem a bit odd. I hope it´s still readable.

----------------------------------------------------

It feels strange to wake up in the morning and see the sun shining in. It feels strange to be taken out for physical therapy every day and struggle to keep up. It feels strange to be alive like this, but I wouldn´t want to miss a second of it, no matter how hard it is. They told me what happened, but I can´t remember a thing. I don´t remember climbing up somewhere, I don´t remember activating a GPRS chip, I don´t remember falling, but I do remember those voices. They told me not to give up, they told me they need me and eventhough I wasn´t sure to whom they belonged, I believed in them.

I open my eyes and look out of the window. It´s much nicer here than in that white ICU room. I don´t exactly know how long I´ve been stuck down there, but if Tony isn´t exaggerating, it must have been a month. It´s mostly him and Gibbs that come to visit me. Abby comes along every few days and Ducky does as well. It´s nice of them to keep me company, but I still wish I could just go home, it´s so boring here, but they won´t let me.

I never realized how difficult some things can become once you forget them. I don´t remember learning to walk when I was a child, but I think I get an idea of how difficult it must be. They have to teach me a lot again, but the doctors still tell me I was lucky. I try to keep up with the work they put on me, but it´s not as easy as I try to make it look. I hide my feelings, I know they are just doing their job. It´s not their body that is in constant pain from the exercises, but I´ve been worse. Since I joined the team at NCIS, I´ve been taken hostage, beaten, shot and stabbed, but it´s completely different from this situation. I don´t expect them to understand.

It´s Tuesday today, I think. That means, it´s another Abby-day. I´m not going by weekdays anymore, I rather go by who is coming by. I like having Abby over, she´s so much fun. Last time she brought in her portable DVD-Player and some movies. I know that those things are not allowed in here, but fortunately nobody noticed. It felt good to get at least some distraction. It´s another 8 hours until she´s coming though. I´ve got another appointment at physical therapy today -another lesson in walking, I guess.

The nurse takes me down there in a wheelchair. I feel like an invalid and just stare down onto the floor until the door of the exercise room closes behind us. Shesmiles at meand leaves. There are no mirrors in this room, I hate looking at myself when I try to walk. It doesn´t look like me. I remember the time before that assignment, before all this happened. I loved dancing, but now I doubt that I could get anything right. My therapist will be here shortly, I don´t want him to see how I feel about all this.

The door opens, but there are two sets of steps today. "Good morning, Miss Todd. Let´s have another go today, shall we?" He says, but there´s an unusual smile in his voice. "I´vegot some help today and I hope you don´t mind." He tells me, but I haven´t seen either of them yet as they are standing behind me. I don´t care if he brought some trainee in or whoever it will be. I just want to get over with this.

A hand is put onto my shoulder and my blood freezes. I still haven´t turned around, but I can sense that I know one of them better than I first thought. "I don´t need no pity from you, Gibbs." I tell him without looking at him. I could tell his presence from a million others without seeing him. I hear how someone is leaving the room. The hand is still there on my shoulder, but I can´t bring myself to look at him. He hasn´t seen me out of bed yet, he hasn´t seen me struggle to hold myself up on to the parallel bars. He doesn´t need to see all that.

He walks around the wheelchair and sits down on a gymnastic ball that´s lying around. I look to the ground, not daring to meet his eyes. I don´t want him to know how scared I am, how much I want to get back to normal, how much I wish for someone to help me through this, how hard all of this is. His hand touches my chin and liftes my head up until I am forced to look at him. "Please, don´t." I plead, but he´s not leaving. His face is not giving away what he´s thinking, but his eyes are like deep wells. I could lose myself in these eyes, but I force myself to look away before that happens.

"Kate." He says and I note how calm his voice sounds. "You can do this, Kate. You just have to believe in yourself." How often have I heard these words over the last weeks? I didn´t care to count, but it´s been often. Everyone keeps telling me this, but what do they know? They don´t know how I feel, even all-knowing-always-getting-it-right Gibbs doesn´t.

"Leave me alone, Gibbs. You don´t know what it´s like, you´re not the one that´s been stuck here for days and weeks. What do you know?" The words are just coming out of me all of the sudden. I´ve never yelled at him before, I never dared and I don´t know what made me do it now. I look back to the floor again, feeling my hands shaking.

I hear the door opening and look over. Suddenly, I regret my behaviour. There´s sorrow in his icy blue eyes and I know I really hurt him. He wanted to help and I pushed him back. It´s too late now, but I wish I had made a different choice. A second can ruin a life, somebody once told me and now I know that´s true. I feel like there is something breaking apart within me when I watch him leave. I want to jump up and run after him, but all I can do is cry. When the door is closing again, I feel hot tears streaming down my face, not from physical pain this time, but the emotional pain is worse than everything.

Tomorrow it will be a week since I´ve pushed him back, but I haven´t heard anything from him. I tried calling, but he´s not answering my calls.Tony is acting weird, too. Every time I ask about Gibbs, he falls silent. My whole body is in pain from the exercises, but there´s finally progress. Steven is satisfied with how I´m doing, I think. I try to ignore the pain, because the pain in my heart is worse than anything the therapy could cause. I can walk short distances rather well and we´re working on my balance now, but it seems to lead somewhere.

I´ve had a talk with my doctors, finally convincing them to release me from the hospital into the care of my friends. Ducky will come by once in a while. He´s the only onewho knows I´m going home.That´s probably why they are willing to let me go in the first place. Tony will come by, as he always does after work on a Monday. I hope he delivered the letter I gave him last Friday, eventhough I doubt it´s going to lead anywhere.I´m not sure how he´ll react when I ask him to take me home, but I hope he´ll be happy for me. I wish Gibbs would come by, too, but he´s still not answering my calls at all. I wish I could turn back time and make a different choice, but life is not like that. It´s hard to admit it to myself, but I miss having him around. It´s not the way I miss Tony when he´s not there, it´s way different somehow.


	20. Letter at Night, Gibbs´POV

Tropical Nightmare- Chapter 20: Letter at night (Gibbs´ POV)

Disclaimer: I don´t own any characters or anything!

Summary: Tony and Kate are sent to Argentina for an undercover mission, but they have to take a detour.They are bound to find out that atropical island can be a real nightmare -at least if you´re on your own out there...

Additional note: I usually don´t write 1st-person narrator, but it seemed to fit rather well for this little story as the POV changes with each chapter.Also, the use of present-tense is wanted here, eventhough it may seem a bit odd. I hope it´s still readable.

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I look at the ringing cell phone on my desk, but I don´t pick it up.She´s still trying to call me every day. I´ve been thinking about getting a new cell phone, but for some reason, there´s a part of me that doesn´t want to do that. I´m not sure why I´ve reacted this way. I knew that she would be upset about me walking in on her in physical therapy. I knew she wouldn´t want help, but still, I just walked out on her without a word. I wanted to go back and talk to her afterwards, but I´m sureshe´s mad at me for coming in the first place. I feel awful thinking about it. It´s a terrible feeling to lose a friend just like that and I wish I could turn back time and make a different choice.

"Boss? I´m done with the report. May I leave?" I look over to Dinozzo, who is packing up his stuff. It´s Monday and I know he´ll be heading to the hospital to visit Kate right after work. I just nod at him and turn my attention back to the monitor in front of me. I´m going to stay at the office tonight, working through some older cases and updating files. It´s the best way to keep my mind busy. I don´t want to think about what happened. He puts two files back into the cabinet behind me and leaves.

I´m halfway through the files around 10 pm. The lights have been turned off for quite a while already. The screens on my desk give off an eerie, green light that´s just bright enough to see the writing on the old files. I walk up to the small kitchen on the upper level to get another cup of coffee. For a moment, I´m almost sure I´ve heard something down in the bullpen, but when I walk back, everything is calm and the way it has been before. I take a sip of my coffee and put the cup onto my desk.

I continue to work on the file, but then there´s a small envelope stuck between the pages. I´m almost sure it wasn´t there when I looked at the file two days ago. I takeit and look at it more closely. I recognize the handwriting that spells my name and I feel how my heart is breaking apart again. It must have fallen into the file some time ago, because I know there is no way Kate could have gotten that letter here today or even recently. Except when she had someone helping her, Tony maybe, but I don´t care to think about that right now.

My hands are shaking a bit when I open the envelope and pull the letter out. It´s only a few lines on a sheet of lined paper, but it´s written in Kate´s neat handwriting. "Jethro, I know you are probably mad at me for how I behaved last week. I know it was a mistake and I know that I shouldn´t have pushed you back like that. I regret what happened and I totally understand when you want to get a transfer for me. You´ve always been there when I was in need for a friend, you´ve taught me so much about myself. I just wanted you to know that. Kate." The letter says and I feel a cold chill creeping down my spine.

I look around again, listen for something that´s unusual, but there´s nothing. Reading the words, I can hear her soft voice in my head. "It wasn´t only your fault, Kate. I shouldn´t have walked out on you. I knew you would be mad at me for turning up that day, but I didn´t want it to be like this." Isay aloudand fold the letter. There are tears burning in my eyes. I put my head into my hands and feel like the whole world is crashing down on me.

I put the letter in my pocket and grab my jacket. I have to get this straightened out. I realize it´s really late already, but yet, I feel that I need to get this over with. My heart is hammering as I drive towards Bethesda. It´s almost 10:30 pm now, but I don´t really care. I park the car at the front entrance and stare out for a moment. It´s snowing again, like it has for almost two days now. I realize that I haven´t been here for almost a week now. Thinking about it, I really don´t know what made me stay away. Suddenly, I don´t know what made me turn down her calls and shut myself out the way I did. I feel stupid, I would never admit that to anyone but I do.

The guard eyes me curiously when I walk up to his counter. "Sir, visiting hours are only until 8 pm." He tells me and I pull out my badge. He´s still keeping the inner door closed. "Sir, if it´s not an emergency, I have to ask you to come back tomorrow." He insists, but when I draw my gun on him, he swallows hard. "Sir, I have to call the police if you don´t take that gun down immediately."

I glare at him for a moment. "I need to talk to one of my agents -now!" I tell him, but put the gun down until it´s merely pointing to the ground. His finger is still hovering over the emergency call button, but he´s not pushing it down yet. He´s eyeing me curiously, then asks for the name. "Caitlin Todd. She´s up in room 347 in the surgical ward." I tell him and he checks his computer.

There´s a puzzled look on his face. "Sorry, but there´s no one with that name in the hospital. Are you sure she hasn´t been transferred to another hospital?" He asks and I´m resisting the temptation to jump over the counter and check the computer myself. "Let me have a look at the recent transfers." He offers a second later and I try to calm my breathing down.

It´s an instinct they´ve taught me during training at the marine corps. Always be on guard, double-check any information that doesn´t satisfy you. It´s hard to get over something like that. I´ve been at the NCIS for almost twenty years now, but it´s still hard to put off some routines. I could have it much easier, if Ijust call her up, but I feel that I need to do this personally, not over the phone.

"There you go...Caitlin Todd, transferred from Austin Naval Hospital on November 6th, released into private care this afternoon. You ought to try her home address, sir." He tells me and I can literally feel my jaw dropping. I think, I thanked him before I head back to the car, but I´m not sure about it at all. I´m confused. Tony didn´t mention anything about her being released today, nor did Abby or Ducky. Someone must have picked her up though.

I don´t care about any road signs, signals or things like that. Usually, it´s a 30 minute drive from Bethesda to the apartment complex she lives in, but tonight I make it in just under 20. There´s a light in her livingroom and I recognize the car out front. "Abby..." I say to myself as I run up the stairs. I´m not sure why I´m so upset all the sudden. Maybe because I´m not ready for this yet, maybe because I want to apologize to her, maybe because I know I´ve let her down, maybe because I fear that she might not forgive me. I reach the first floor and turn right. It´s the second door on the left. There´s the sound of a TV coming from the livingroom and I hear steps when I ring the doorbell. Inwardly, I try to brace myself -or calm myself, I´m not sure which one it is right now.


	21. Visitor after hours, Abby´s POV

Tropical Nightmare- Chapter 21: Visitor after hours (Abby´s POV)

Disclaimer: I don´t own any characters or anything!

Summary: Tony and Kate are sent to Argentina for an undercover mission, but they have to take a detour.They are bound to find out that atropical island can be a real nightmare -at least if you´re on your own out there...

Additional note: I usually don´t write 1st-person narrator, but it seemed to fit rather well for this little story as the POV changes with each chapter.Also, the use of present-tense is wanted here, eventhough it may seem a bit odd. I hope it´s still readable.

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I´m checking some samples at the lab when my cell starts ringing. It´s Tony´s ID and I wonder why he´s calling. As far as I know, he was going to see Kate at the hospital tonight. "Hey, Tony." I answer the call and wonder why there´s not the typical hospital-like background noise tonight.

"Hey, Abbs. Uhm...you still busy at the lab?" Something in his voice tells me that he´s got something planned and needs me for that. "I need your help." Yep, right again. It´s so easy to figure out when he needs something. "I got this date tonight...well, actually, it´s dinner at my mom´s place. I can´t put that off, I´ve done so several times last week. Could you come over to Kate´s place and stay with her tonight?"

For a moment, I´m not sure if he´s trying to pull a joke on me or something. "Uhm...hang on. Did you say Kate´s place? She´s still at Bethesda, isn´t she? Kind of a bad joke, Dinozzo." I tell him, but a part of me is wondering if he might be telling the truth.

He sounds a bit unnerved. "Listen, Abby, this ain´t no joke. I didn´t know either, but Kate´s been released today. I took her home and she´s asleep now. Please, just get over here. I´ll get you caf-pow for a whole month, but I need someone to stay with her. Ducky is off to a bingo tournament with his mother -he told me a few days back and I just get his answering machine. And Gibbs...well, you know how he has been lately when it came to Kate. I don´t know what happened between them, but I really don´t want to set him off any further." The tone in his voice tells me he´s not joking or anything. He´s completely serious and no matter how often he has played his childish jokes on me, this time I believe him.

"Give me 20 minutes, okay? Do I need to get anything from the store before coming over or did you take care of that?" I ask and as usually, he hasn´t thought about getting anything up front. I throw my lab coat into the corner and shut the computers down. I can finish the analysis tomorrow or some time later, but that doesn´t really count right now. After picking up a bunch of groceries at the store, I park my car in front of the apartment complex. Tony´s car is parked there too, so I know he´s really been telling the truth. He opens the door before I can ring the bell, so he´s probably been waiting for me to come.

"Thank heavens. I really owe you one for this." He tells me and puts on his jacket immediately. "Uhm...meds are in the green bag on the kitchen counter, there´s a list of administration order too. She´s supposed to get as much rest as possible. Maybe you can check with Ducky tomorrow and we´ll set up a plan to keep her company. Just don´t let Gibbs notice yet. I don´t think that would be good. Okay, I´m off. Thanks again, Abbs."

He´s gone before I can even really process all the information he´s given me. I put my coat over an armchair and put the groceries away. After that I carefully open the bedroom door and smile at the picture. Kate is sleeping soundly, her hair fanning out over the pillow. Tony has dimmed the light down. There´s a chair next to the bed, so he´s probably been sitting with her for a while. I close the door again and turn down the doorbell. It´s a good thing she got one of those newer ones where you can turn down the volume at need.

I haven´t eaten since breakfast, but I can´t bring myself to make something yet.I check out the green back that´s sitting on the counter. There´s a whole bunch of meds inside and I really wonder that they released her already. I´m familiar with the different meds and take out the plastic tray to get everything settled for the next day. This way she doesn´t have to sort through the packs and try to figure out when she is supposed to take something.

I didn´t manage to bring any clothes along, so I just walk into her dressing room and take out a sweat suit. She´sgiven it to me before when I stayed at her place, so I don´t think she´ll mind. I sit down next to the bed for a moment and watch her sleep. She looks loads better than in the hospital, but she´s still pale. I remember the way she used to be and all the fun we had before this happened, but I know she´ll get back to that some time. She´s come a long way to this point, but there´s an even longer way to go if she wants to return to active duty.

I settle down in the livingroom at some pointand turn on the TV. I keep the noise down and watch the 11 pm news on CNN. My thoughts keep drifting away and I wonder just what happened between Gibbs and Kate. I have been working with him for a long time, but he´s rarely as grumpy as nowadays. I´m not sure if it was Kate, who pissed him off, but if it was her, she must have done so very royally. When McGee tipped his coffee over at a crime scene a while back, he was tons better than right now.And spilling the boss-man´s coffee is considered the ultimate crime at NCIS.

Suddenly, there´s a sound at the door and I remember turning down the doorbell. I wonder who´s out there, but figure it will be Tony again. Maybe he wants to check if everything is all right, but when I open the door, I meet a pair of icy blue eyes, glaring at me, but I can see a lot of confusion in them too.


	22. Kitchen Talk, Gibbs´POV

Tropical Nightmare- Chapter 22: Kitchen talk (Gibbs´ POV)

Disclaimer: I don´t own any characters or anything!

Summary: Tony and Kate are sent to Argentina for an undercover mission, but they have to take a detour.They are bound to find out that atropical island can be a real nightmare -at least if you´re on your own out there...

Additional note: I usually don´t write 1st-person narrator, but it seemed to fit rather well for this little story as the POV changes with each chapter.Also, the use of present-tense is wanted here, eventhough it may seem a bit odd. I hope it´s still readable.

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I look into Abby´s green eyes. She´s surprised to see me, that´s for sure. I don´t know whom she was expecting to come by at such a time, but I don´t really care right now. I walk in without waiting for her to stand aside. The look on her face hardens as I push her out of the way and look around. "Where is she?" I demand and walk towards the door I know is leading to the bedroom. I almost reach it, but then there´s something holding me back.

I turn around and see Abby holding my arm, fire burning in her eyes. I didn´t expect this reaction and don´t try to fight her when she pulls me into the kitchen. "Listen up, boss-man. I know you´re probably going to be pissed off anyway, so put it off for a minute and let me finish what I got to say." She starts out, her voice low, but full of what I believe is anger, but I´m not completely sure. I´m taken aback by this and can´t bring out a word. "Tony called me up tonight, talking me into keeping an eye on Kate, ´cause she´s been released today and he got a date with his mom. I haven´t finished my work at the lab, I haven´t had time to pick up any clothes, I haven´t eaten since breakfast and I´m definetely not going to let you run in there and wake her up. If she pissed you off for some reason, it´s between the two of you all right, but she needs to sleep now and whatever you´ve been thinking to do, you´ll have to put off until some time later. All I know is that she looks like the walking dead and that she needs time to rest. She doesn´t need you telling her off for whatever she did or getting yelled at or anything. She almost died, you know, and she´s not up for a yell-fight with you."

I feel my face grow hot while I listen to her. My heartbeat returns to normal while she is still glaring at me. I realize how much truth there is in her words and I feel embarrassed. Suddenly I don´t remember what made me storm into the apartment like a maniac, I don´t remember why I ignored her calls, I don´t remember why I behaved like such a moron for the last week. I feel my hands shaking. Without even thinking about it, I sit down on the kitchen floor and put my head into my hands. I can´t hold back the tears, but I don´t think I really try to anyway. I feel like crap and I know I deserve this.

It´s silent for a few second, then I feel a hand on my arm. "Gibbs... I´m sorry... I didn´t mean to bite your head off like that. C´mon, boss-man, say something... Yell at me, give me hell, but say something, please." I hear Abby say. She sounds shocked. I´ve never seen her take on anyone like she justdid and it´s a side of her I rather not see again any time soon.

I raise my head and look at her. She´s kneeling next to me, tears in her eyes. I reach out and wipe a tear off her face. "I´m so sorry, Abbs. You´re right, I´ve behaved like an idiot." Her mouth opens, but she doesn´t say anything. "I wanted to help her, but she pushed me back and I decided to act like a spoiled child and sulk." I tell her and try to smile.

We still sit on the floor in Kate´s kitchen and talk. I don´t know what time it is, but that doesn´t matter now. We´ve gone over almost the last half year now, looking back at what happened, what changed and why. I´ve never talked to Abby that long. She´s a different person at work somehow, but I realize that all of us are. We´ve grown accustomed to the person we see at work, but we don´t know who they really are until we see them outside the office. I don´t move for several more minutes and try to sort my thoughts. Abby left already, I told her to go, since she´s been having a bad day at work and needs some time to herself.

It´s after midnight and I´m sitting on a dusty kitchen floor. I pulled a gun on an innocent guard at the hospital today. I almost went after everyone´s throat during the last days and I almost lost a friend. Maybe this is just one of those days, but I feel like my whole world is changing into something different. I try to picture myself walking into the bullpen tomorrow, barking my orders at Dinozzo and McGee, but I´m not sure if I can do that anymore. I try to see myself processing a crime scene with the team, assigning jobs to them, keeping everything in mind, but I´m not sure if I still can. I wonder what has changed me so much. I get is the feeling that the walls around my emotional, feeling, even caring self, have been torn down all the sudden. I have kept them to keep myself from being harmed by my feelings, but lately, they have been more of a burden than anything else.

I get up again and help myself to a glass of water. I don´t think I could stand coffee right now. I walk into the livingroom and look out of the window. It´s late and there are no other lights on this block. I consider calling Ducky, but it´s too late already. I consider calling in sick for the next day, but I don´t think it would solve things. I straighten myself and walk to the bedroom door. It opens without a sound and I feel a smile on my face when I see her. She´s sleeping peacefully, like nothing ever happened. Only her pale face and the scar on her head tell what really happened.


	23. Making up, Kate´s POV

Tropical Nightmare- Chapter 23: Making up (Kate´s POV)

Disclaimer: I don´t own any characters or anything!

Summary: Tony and Kate are sent to Argentina for an undercover mission, but they have to take a detour.They are bound to find out that atropical island can be a real nightmare -at least if you´re on your own out there...

Additional note: I usually don´t write 1st-person narrator, but it seemed to fit rather well for this little story as the POV changes with each chapter.Also, the use of present-tense is wanted here, eventhough it may seem a bit odd. I hope it´s still readable.

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I sense someone near me and slowly open my eyes. I´m not at the hospital anymore, that´s my first thought, but then I remember. I´m in my own bedroom. I haven´t been here for a very long time, but there is no way I could forget it. The light is dimmed, I guess Tony did that after we got here. He´s been a great help -not only today, but also on so many other occasions. I blink and turn my head a bit as I become aware of another presence in the room. First I think it´s Tony, but then I realize that the features resemble someone else, someone I never thought I would find sitting next to me in my bedroom again. "Hey, you." I say because I don´t really know what else to tell him.

Much to my surprise, there´s a smile on his face when he leans over and looks at me. I´m surprised of the warmth I can see in his eyes. I thought he would be mad at me, yelling at me or something, but he´s not saying anything right now. Only now I realize that he´s holding my hand. That´s what woke me in the first place, but I don´t mind at all. His eyes tell more than thousands of words ever could. I smile back at him and know that everything will be okay. I know we need to talk, but it´s hard to find the right words.

"Thanks for not yelling at me." I finally say and see a shadow crossing his face. "I´m sorry about what happened. I..." He raises his hand and I fall silent. It´s a sign they use in military, but I´ve grown accustomed to it somehow. I can see that he´s fighting with himself for the right words. It´s always interesting to watch him when he does that. I´ve seen it a few times only, but it´s still fascinating.

"It´s me who should be sorry. I tried to stick my head into your business without realizing how much I hurt you by doing so. I sulked like a stubborn child and kept away from you when you needed me by your side. I...I just hope it´s not too late now." He says and I listen to him with amazement. Jethro Gibbs is not someone who can talk about things like that casually. He´s never easy to talk to, even if you can count him as a friend.

We talk for a long time, I don´t really know how long it actually took, but in the end I know that we are still friends. We make up though we will never forget what happened. It´s going to be a reminder of how fragile a friendship can be. I feel tired again and start to drift back to sleep. He´s still there and I feel safe. I forget to ask him where Tony went, but it´s not important. I sink down into the land of dreams and forget about everything around me again.

When I open my eyes again, it´s morning already. For a moment I wonder what woke me up, but then I realize it´s the sound of my cell phone. It´s lying on my nightstand and I reach for it. "Yes?" I ask and notice that I still sound tired. I check my alarmclock -barely 8 am.

"Hey, Kate. It´s Tony. Uhm...do you have a clue where Gibbs could be at? Abby told me he turned up at your place last night." Oh, wonderful. I need a good story now, but then, I decide to stick with the truth.

"I´m not sure. He was here last night. Let me go check the livingroom. It got pretty late, so he might still be asleep..." I get up and make my way to the door. I still have to fight a bit to keep my balance, but it´s getting better with every step. When I open the door, I have the cutest picture in front of me. I close the door again and sit back on the bed. "He´s here all right, sound asleep on my couch. Could you ask Ducky to issue a note of absence for him for today? I think he´s a bit out of it." I tell him and can literally hear the smile on his face.

"I sure will. He behaved himself though, didn´t he? Abby told me he was pretty grumpy when he got there." I´m a bit surprised by this bit of news -I make myself a note to ask Abby about what happened later on.

"Thanks, Tony. I´ll see you later then." I tell him and put the phone down. Afterwards, I walk into the bathroom and take a hot shower. It feels great to be back at home and I start feeling better already. It seems like it´s not only a saying that the home is the best place to recover. I change into a pair of sweat pants and a green shirt before I walk into the kitchen. I try not to wake him up, but from the way he´s snoring away, even Abby´s music wouldn´t wake him yet.

I make some coffee and sit down in my favorite armchair next to the couch. Before we got on that plane, I had started to read a book, which still sits on the small table. I pick it up and start reading, taking a sip of my coffee once in a while. I´ve covered about 30 pages when I hear a sound from the couch. Looking up, I see him stirring a bit and put the book down. I have to smile when I watch him wake up. When he´s asleep, he looks peaceful -he never looks that way when he´s awake, so that´s how you can tell if he´s really sleeping or merely acting as if.

I walk into the kitchen and get a second cup of coffee, which I put onto the table for him. I settle back down and continue to watch him. His eyes finally open and he sits up with a start. "Morning, big boss. Did you sleep well?" I ask and have to smile about the look on his face.


	24. Rolling again, Gibbs´ POV

Tropical Nightmare- Chapter 24: Rolling again (Gibbs´ POV)

Disclaimer: I don´t own any characters or anything!

Summary: Tony and Kate are sent to Argentina for an undercover mission, but they have to take a detour.They are bound to find out that atropical island can be a real nightmare -at least if you´re on your own out there...

Additional note: I usually don´t write 1st-person narrator, but it seemed to fit rather well for this little story as the POV changes with each chapter.Also, the use of present-tense is wanted here, eventhough it may seem a bit odd. I hope it´s still readable.

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It´s barely 7:50 am, but time seems to pass especially slow this morning. I look over to the elevator as Dinozzo and McGee come in. Both are talking about something and come over to their desks. Tony grins at me. "Morning, boss." He calls over and I just nod back. Today is the first day that feels normal in almost a whole year. McGee starts up his computer and continues to ask Tony about the weekend. It´s just a normal Monday morning at the bullpen.

I flip through some files until the elevator doors open again. It´s Abby, followed by Ducky. It´s an unusual sight to have both of them up here, but today, there´s a good reason for it. "Hey, boss-man." Abby calls over and hops onto McGee´s desk.

I raise an eyebrow, but don´t say anything about that. Normally, I would shoot a sharp remark at her or at McGee, but today, I´m not. "Good morning, Jethro." Ducky says as he walks up to my desk and takes the spare chair that´s standing behind me.

"Morning, Duck." I return the greeting and put the files away. "Abbs, did you get the reservation for tonight?" I ask her and she just nods. I put a check-mark behind that point on my calender and lean back. "Dinozzo, did you make sure we´re not on call tonight?"

"Yep, double checked that with Director Shepard." He replies and looks satisfied with himself. It´s 8 am sharp now and the elevator opens again. I can´t explain why, but this moment seems to be completely normal to me. It feels like it is supposed to feel at 8 am on a Monday morning.

Kate walks up to her desk and throws her backpack on the ground. She drops into her chair and glances at everyone in the bullpen. "Uhm...morning, everyone." She says and smiles. Abby smiles back at her and then retreats towards the lab, as does Ducky. McGee looks after Abby for a moment, then turns his attention back to his computer. Tony has his arms crossed in front of his chest and looks at her. "Red is not your color, Kate..." He says and grins when she tosses a pencil at him. "Yeah, office fight!" He exclaims and tosses an eraser at her, which she dodges in a fluent motion while she tosses another pen.

I´m about to intervene when my phone starts ringing. "Gibbs." I answer the call and listen to the voice on the other end of the line. I look around while I listen to the person on the phone. Everything is back to normal. Tony told me he won´t take any assignments that have to do with riding a plane or tropical islands, but I can live with that. There are enough cases around here, waiting to be solved and the next one just walked in on us. I put the phone into my pocket and jump up. "We got a dead sailor in the Goldriver lounge. Tony, gas the truck. McGee, call up Ducky. Kate, get the gear." I tell them and fasten the gun on my belt. We´re ready to roll again.

END


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